Policies and Issues of Tax Assessment Improvement

Policies and Issues of Tax Assessment Improvement PDF Author: William Gordon Murray
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Tax assessment
Languages : en
Pages : 28

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Policies and Issues of Tax Assessment Improvement

Policies and Issues of Tax Assessment Improvement PDF Author: William Gordon Murray
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Tax assessment
Languages : en
Pages : 28

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Book Description


A Good Tax

A Good Tax PDF Author: Joan Youngman
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781558443426
Category : Local finance
Languages : en
Pages : 260

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Book Description
In A Good Tax, tax expert Joan Youngman skillfully considers how to improve the operation of the property tax and supply the information that is often missing in public debate. She analyzes the legal, administrative, and political challenges to the property tax in the United States and offers recommendations for its improvement. The book is accessibly written for policy analysts and public officials who are dealing with specific property tax issues and for those concerned with property tax issues in general.

Assessing the Theory and Practice of Land Value Taxation

Assessing the Theory and Practice of Land Value Taxation PDF Author: Richard F. Dye
Publisher: Lincoln Inst of Land Policy
ISBN: 9781558442047
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 32

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Book Description
The land value tax is the focus of this Policy Focus Report, Assessing the Theory and Practice of Land Value Taxation. A concept dating back to Henry George, the land value tax is a variant of the property tax that imposes a higher tax rate on land than on improvements, or taxes only the land value. Many other types of changes in property tax policy, such as assessment freezes or limitations, have undesirable side effects, including unequal treatment of similarly situated taxpayers and distortion of economic incentives. The land value tax can enhance both the fairness and the efficiency of property tax collection, with few undesirable effects; land is effectively in fixed supply, so an increase in the tax rate on land value will raise revenue without distorting the incentives for owners to invest in and use their land. A land value tax has also been seen as a way to combat urban sprawl by encouraging density and infill development. Authors Richard F. Dye and Richard W. England examine the experience of those who have implemented the land value tax -- more than 30 countries around the world, and in the United States, several municipalities dating back to 1913, when the Pennsylvania legislature permitted Pittsburgh and Scranton to tax land values at a higher rate than building values. A 1951 statute gave smaller Pennsylvania cities the same option to enact a two-rate property tax, a variation of the land value tax. About 15 communities currently use this type of tax program, while others tried and rescinded it. Hawaii also has experience with two-rate taxation, and Virginia and Connecticut have authorized municipalities to choose a two-rate property tax. The land value tax has been subjected to studies comparing jurisdictions with and without it, and to legal challenges. A land value tax also raises administrative issues, particularly in the area of property tax assessments. Land value taxation is an attractive alternative to the traditional property tax, especially to much more problematic types of property tax measures such as assessment limitations, the authors conclude. A land value tax is best implemented if local officials use best assessing practices to keep land and improvement values up to date; phase in dual tax rates over several years; and include a tax credit feature in those communities where land-rich but income-poor citizens might suffer from land value taxation.

Detroit and the Property Tax

Detroit and the Property Tax PDF Author: Gary Sands
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781558443419
Category : Real property tax
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
This report outlines the problems underlying the erosion of Detroit's property tax base--a factor that contributed to the city's bankruptcy in 2013. It offers recommendations for reform at the local and state level, as well as insight and analysis to help policy makers across the country protect their communities from economic decline.

Property Tax Assessment Limits

Property Tax Assessment Limits PDF Author: Mark Haveman
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781558441675
Category : Property tax
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
This policy focus report examines options that exist for timely and efficient aid to needy taxpayers, including circuit breaker programs that reduce taxes based on income level; truth in taxation measures; deferral options on property tax payments; partial exemptions on owner-occupied or homestead properties; and classified tax rates.

An Experiment Involving Property Tax Assessment Quality

An Experiment Involving Property Tax Assessment Quality PDF Author: Jason Delaney
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
We conduct a laboratory experiment to explore the willingness to pay to improve the accuracy of property assessment and three related issues regarding attitudes toward these assessments and taxes. First, we explore individual willingness to pay to improve property assessment accuracy; a more accurate assessment is one with a smaller variance of potential assessments, i.e., a lower risk of an unknown property tax bill. We compare that to what individuals are willing to pay for a reduction in the variance of an equivalent private cost. Second, we explore the extent to which the willingness to pay to improve the accuracy of property assessments depends on whether the risk for other property owners also decreases. We find that subjects do not appear to distinguish between public and private sources of risk. They are responsive to the price of the improvement of property tax assessment accuracy. Finally, we use this result to estimate demand for reduced risk and find that subjects were not willing to pay to reduce the assessment variance to a level consistent with best practices in property tax assessment.

Real Property Taxation in New York City

Real Property Taxation in New York City PDF Author: Philip Finkelstein
Publisher: Greenwood
ISBN:
Category : Real property tax
Languages : en
Pages : 152

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Assessors' Manual Including Assessment Laws with Questions and Answers Relating Thereto

Assessors' Manual Including Assessment Laws with Questions and Answers Relating Thereto PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Property tax
Languages : en
Pages : 104

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Rethinking Property Tax Incentives for Business

Rethinking Property Tax Incentives for Business PDF Author: Daphne A. Kenyon
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781558442337
Category : Electronic books
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
The use of property tax incentives for business by local governments throughout the United States has escalated over the last 50 years. While there is little evidence that these tax incentives are an effective instrument to promote economic development, they cost state and local governments $5 to $10 billion each year in forgone revenue. Three major obstacles can impede the success of property tax incentives as an economic development tool. First, incentives are unlikely to have a significant impact on a firm's profitability since property taxes are a small part of the total costs for most businesses--averaging much less than 1 percent of total costs for the U.S. manufacturing sector. Second, tax breaks are sometimes given to businesses that would have chosen the same location even without the incentives. When this happens, property tax incentives merely deplete the tax base without promoting economic development. Third, widespread use of incentives within a metropolitan area reduces their effectiveness, because when firms can obtain similar tax breaks in most jurisdictions, incentives are less likely to affect business location decisions. This report reviews five types of property tax incentives and examines their characteristics, costs, and effectiveness: property tax abatement programs; tax increment finance; enterprise zones; firm-specific property tax incentives; and property tax exemptions in connection with issuance of industrial development bonds. Alternatives to tax incentives should be considered by policy makers, such as customized job training, labor market intermediaries, and business support services. State and local governments also can pursue a policy of broad-based taxes with low tax rates or adopt split-rate property taxation with lower taxes on buildings than land.State policy makers are in a good position to increase the effectiveness of property tax incentives since they control how local governments use them. For example, states can restrict the use of incentives to certain geographic areas or certain types of facilities; publish information on the use of property tax incentives; conduct studies on their effectiveness; and reduce destructive local tax competition by not reimbursing local governments for revenue they forgo when they award property tax incentives.Local government officials can make wiser use of property tax incentives for business and avoid such incentives when their costs exceed their benefits. Localities should set clear criteria for the types of projects eligible for incentives; limit tax breaks to mobile facilities that export goods or services out of the region; involve tax administrators and other stakeholders in decisions to grant incentives; cooperate on economic development with other jurisdictions in the area; and be clear from the outset that not all businesses that ask for an incentive will receive one.Despite a generally poor record in promoting economic development, property tax incentives continue to be used. The goal is laudable: attracting new businesses to a jurisdiction can increase income or employment, expand the tax base, and revitalize distressed urban areas. In a best case scenario, attracting a large facility can increase worker productivity and draw related firms to the area, creating a positive feedback loop. This report offers recommendations to improve the odds of achieving these economic development goals.

Basis of Assets

Basis of Assets PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Capital gains tax
Languages : en
Pages : 20

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