From completely eliminating property tax to creating new exemptions, voters in eight states across the country will cast their votes on a variety of ballot measures that could have major implications for local budgets.
According to an article in Stateline, measures aimed at reducing property taxes will be on the ballot in at least eight states this November: Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, New Mexico, North Dakota, Virginia, and Wyoming. The move comes as home market values, which have increased about 50 percent since August 2019, are starting to impact property assessments, and home owners are feeling the pinch.
“No state illustrates this year’s flurry of ballot measures to cut property taxes better than Colorado,” where “one ballot initiative would cap annual state property tax revenue growth from residential and commercial properties at 4%” and another, which has not currently qualified for the ballot but is expected to, “would cut residential and commercial property tax assessment rates,” reports Stateline’s Elaine S. Povich.
Property taxes have always been unpopular, despite being a fairly efficient form of taxation; experts posit that’s because they are often “paid in a large lump a couple or so times a year — as opposed to income taxes or sales taxes, which are paid in dribbles — they tend to leave a bigger impression on taxpayers,” Povich writes. Some groups in Colorado want an even higher cap than 4 percent, but some say the ballot measure go too far and risk eroding the funding source for critical government services like schools, roads, emergency responders, and other local government services.
Here’s a quick summary of the property-tax related ballot measures beyond Colorado:
- Arizona: Property owners could “apply for a property tax refund if the municipality does not enforce laws against illegal camping, loitering, panhandling, public urination, public consumption of alcohol and possession of illegal substances.
- Florida: State would allow adjust the homestead exemption according to annual inflation for people whose properties are their primary residence
- Georgia: Localities could create a homestead exemption for homeowners who use a property as their primary residence.
- New Mexico: Veterans would get more property tax breaks.
- North Dakota: Property taxes would be eliminated entirely, which experts say could cost the state $1.3 billion per year.
- Virginia: Veterans would get more property tax breaks.
- Wyoming: State would create a new class of property for taxation, separating owner-occupied dwellings from rental properties.
FULL STORY: Ballot questions tackle high property taxes that come with rising home values
Property Appraisal Caps Unlikely to Pass in Texas
Critics of a proposal to limit property value increases to reduce homeowners’ property tax burden say the measure would destabilize the housing market and cause cities to raise other taxes to compensate.
Counties and Cities Facing Sudden Dip in Property Tax Revenue
Property taxes have traditionally been viewed as recession-proof channels for local revenue, but first the Great Recession, and now the pandemic depression, are proving to be exceptions to the rule.
Fiscal Effects of the Pandemic Depend on Tax Structures
Cities that rely on sales and income tax revenues to fund vital local services can expect immediate fiscal consequences from the coronavirus pandemic.
National Parks Layoffs Will Cause Communities to Lose Billions
Thousands of essential park workers were laid off this week, just before the busy spring break season.
Retro-silient?: America’s First “Eco-burb,” The Woodlands Turns 50
A master-planned community north of Houston offers lessons on green infrastructure and resilient design, but falls short of its founder’s lofty affordability and walkability goals.
Delivering for America Plan Will Downgrade Mail Service in at Least 49.5 Percent of Zip Codes
Republican and Democrat lawmakers criticize the plan for its disproportionate negative impact on rural communities.
Test News Post 1
This is a summary
Test News Headline 46
Test for the image on the front page.
Balancing Bombs and Butterflies: How the National Guard Protects a Rare Species
The National Guard at Fort Indiantown Gap uses GIS technology and land management strategies to balance military training with conservation efforts, ensuring the survival of the rare eastern regal fritillary butterfly.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
EMC Planning Group, Inc.
Planetizen
Planetizen
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service