In his new book, The Black Tax: 150 Years of Theft, Exploitation, and Dispossession in America, Professor Andrew Kahrl walks readers through the history of the property tax system and its structural defects that have led to widespread discrimination against Black Americans.
Property Taxes
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blog April 24, 2024 Tax History Matters: A Q&A with Professor Andrew Kahrl, Author of ‘The Black Tax’
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blog March 14, 2024 Ahead of the ‘Bring Chicago Home’ Vote, Remember That Local Mansion Taxes are Tried and Tested
As Chicago and other localities look for ways to shore up resources for critical public investments, it’s important to remember that over a dozen cities and counties have already benefited from policies like mansion taxes.
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brief March 14, 2024 Local Mansion Taxes: Building Stronger Communities with Progressive Taxes on High-Value Real Estate
More than one dozen cities and counties levy progressive taxes on high-price real estate transactions — sometimes called mansion taxes — and over a dozen more are considering such policies. By asking buyers and sellers with greater financial means to contribute more to the common good, these policies are equipping communities with resources to make progress on critical challenges of local and national concern.
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brief November 2, 2023 America Used to Have a Wealth Tax: The Forgotten History of the General Property Tax
Over time, broad wealth taxes were whittled away to become the narrower property taxes we have today. These selective wealth taxes apply to the kinds of wealth that make up a large share of middle-class families’ net worth (like homes and cars), but usually exempt most of the net worth of the wealthy (like business equity, bonds, and pooled investment funds).The rationale for this pared-back approach to wealth taxation has grown weaker in recent decades as inequality has worsened, the share of wealth held outside of real estate has increased, and the tools needed to administer a broad wealth tax have improved.
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blog October 24, 2023 2023’s State and Local Tax Ballot Measures: Voters to Weigh in on Property Taxes, Wealth Taxes, and More
Even in this slow year for candidate elections, the decisions that voters in states and cities make could strengthen or weaken revenue for needs in their communities and could change how taxes are distributed across the income spectrum. In the places where tax fairness is on the ballot, much is at stake.
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map May 19, 2023 Circuit Breakers and Other Income-Based Property Tax Programs in 2023
No tax cut offers a more targeted solution to property tax affordability problems than circuit breaker credits. This is because circuit breakers are the only tools for reducing property taxes… -
blog May 11, 2023 States are Talking About the Wrong Kind of Property Tax Cuts
Concerns over property tax affordability have been at the forefront this year as housing prices have climbed and property tax bills have often increased along with them. As lawmakers mull a range of property tax cuts, circuit breakers are the best possible approach—and these policies are receiving far too little attention in the states.
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report May 11, 2023 Preventing an Overload: How Property Tax Circuit Breakers Promote Housing Affordability
Circuit breaker credits are the most effective tool available to promote property tax affordability. These policies prevent a property tax “overload” by crediting back property taxes that go beyond a certain share of income. Circuit breakers intervene to ensure that property taxes do not swallow up an unreasonable portion of qualifying households’ budgets.
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blog January 18, 2023 State Lawmakers Should Break the 2023 Tax Cut Fever Before It’s Too Late
Despite mixed economic signals for 2023, including a possible recession, many state lawmakers plan to use temporary budget surpluses to forge ahead with permanent, regressive tax cuts that would disproportionately benefit the wealthy at the expense of low- and middle-income households. These cuts would put state finances in a precarious position and further erode public investments in education, transportation and health, all of which are crucial for creating inclusive, vibrant communities where everyone, not just the rich, can achieve economic security and thrive. In the event of an economic downturn, these results would be accelerated and amplified.
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blog October 31, 2022 Tax Foundation’s ‘State Business Tax Climate Index’ Bears Little Connection to Business Reality
The big problem with the Index is that it peddles a solution that not only falls short of the goal of generating business investment, but one that actively harms state lawmakers’ ability to provide the kinds of public goods – like good schools and modern, efficient transportation networks – that businesses need and want.
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blog March 31, 2022 Racial Discrimination in Home Appraisals Is a Problem That’s Now Getting Federal Attention
With both assessments and appraisals being unfair, homeowners of color are stuck between a rock and a hard place when it comes to determining the worth of what is, for most homeowners, their most valuable asset.
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blog January 5, 2022 The Pendulum Is Swinging Toward Tax Justice
Tax justice is deeply connected to the movements for equality and racial justice. Progressive tax policy can ensure more of us share in the prosperous economy that our collective tax dollars make possible. It can mitigate economic disparities by class and race. And it can make sure the government has the resources it needs to function for all of us.
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blog September 14, 2021 New Census Data Highlight Need for Permanent Child Tax Credit Expansion
The status quo was a choice, but the Census data released today shows that different policy choices can create drastically different outcomes for children and families. It is time for our state and federal legislators to put people first when it comes to recovery.
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blog August 5, 2021 Why Local Governments Need an Anti-Racist Approach to Property Assessments
Property taxes are among the oldest and most relied upon form of local taxes. Revenue raised from these taxes funds education, firefighting, law enforcement, street and infrastructure maintenance, and other essential services. Though all members of the community enjoy these public goods, homeowners of color, especially Black families, pay more as a share of home value in property taxes than their white counterparts.
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blog April 27, 2021 Gentrification and the Property Tax: How Circuit Breakers Can Help
Property tax circuit breakers are effective because they provide property tax relief to families whose property taxes surpass a certain percentage of their income. If a family in a gentrifying area sees their property tax bill (or their rent) surge to an unaffordable level, a circuit breaker credit kicks in to offer relief. This targeted approach assists low- and middle-income families without significantly reducing overall tax revenue.
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blog November 30, 2020 After the Dust Has Settled: How Progressive Tax Policy Fared in the General Election
While the results of the 2020 presidential election are all but set in stone—and a sign of life for progressive policy—the results of state tax ballot initiatives are more of a mixed bag. However, the overall fight for tax equity and raising more revenue to invest in people and communities is trending in the right direction.
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blog October 22, 2020 Voters Have the Chance in 2020 to Increase Tax Equity in Arizona, Illinois, and California, And They Should
There’s a lot at stake in this election cycle: the nation and our economy are reeling from the effects brought on by the coronavirus pandemic and states remain in limbo as they weigh deep budget cuts and rush to address projected revenue shortfalls.
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blog October 8, 2020 Putting California Proposition 15 in Context
Californians are voting now on Proposition 15, which would require commercial and industrial property worth $3 million or more to be taxed based on an up-to-date assessment of full market value. Proposition 15 is sound tax policy that would raise much needed revenue and help to advance racial and economic justice.
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report September 26, 2019 State Tax Codes as Poverty Fighting Tools: 2019 Update on Four Key Policies in All 50 States
This report presents a comprehensive overview of anti-poverty tax policies, surveys tax policy decisions made in the states in 2019 and offers recommendations that every state should consider to help families rise out of poverty. States can jump start their anti-poverty efforts by enacting one or more of four proven and effective tax strategies to reduce the share of taxes paid by low- and moderate-income families: state Earned Income Tax Credits, property tax circuit breakers, targeted low-income credits, and child-related tax credits.
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brief September 26, 2019 Property Tax Circuit Breakers in 2019
State lawmakers seeking to make residential property taxes more affordable have two broad options: across-the-board tax cuts for taxpayers at all income levels, such as a homestead exemption or a tax cap, and targeted tax breaks that are given only to particular groups of low- and middle-income taxpayers. This policy brief surveys the advantages and disadvantages of the circuit breaker approach to reducing property taxes.
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blog August 16, 2019 One Tax System for Most Americans, and a Second System for the Wealthiest
Last year, the Walton family’s fortune grew by $100 million a day. This level of wealth is particularly obscene in the context of the Walmart Corporation’s dark store strategy. The company works nationwide to reduce its property tax assessments, which, when successful, deprives local communities of revenue necessary to fund education, libraries, parks, public health and other services.
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map May 18, 2019 How Heavily Does Your State Rely on Property Taxes?
The property tax is the oldest major revenue source for state and local governments and remains an important mechanism for funding education and other local services. This map shows the share of state and local general revenue in each state that is raised through property taxes.
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blog April 12, 2019 You Can’t Tax Stolen Land
The Montana Senate this week stopped a bill to restructure the state’s temporary tribal tax exemption program, making tribal governments the only sovereignties on which Montana levies a tax and making it more difficult for leaders to buy back illegally seized land. Still, the success of the bill in the House is troubling.
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ITEP Work in Action January 15, 2013 Indiana Association for Community Economic Development: Indiana Property Taxes: Is Property Tax Relief or Tax Restructuring the Solution?
Many Indiana communities are once again experiencing what is perceived to be a property tax “crisis.” However, by its most common definition, a crisis implies a situation that is characterized… -
brief September 1, 2011 Split Roll Property Taxes
In the past half century, state lawmakers have explored a wide variety of approaches to scaling back property taxes. One such approach is the split roll property tax, also known as a classified property tax. Unlike a regular property tax system which taxes all types of real property at the same rate, a split roll property tax applies different tax rates to different types of property. This policy brief looks at the advantages and disadvantages of the split roll approach.