Challenging the Conventional Wisdom on the Property Tax
This book reviews the role of the property tax, addresses the reasons behind its poor performance in practice, and critiques the conventional wisdom in academic literature on the subject. It also suggests ways for government officials to achieve greater voter confidence and more robust property tax systems through key policy and administrative reforms.
About the Editors
Roy Bahl is professor in the Department of Economcis in the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies at Georgia State University
Jorge Martinez-Vazquez is professor in the Department of Economcis at the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies at Georgia State University.
Joan Youngman is senior fellow and chair of the Department of Valuation and Taxation at the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy.
Reviews
“The essays in this volume provide a valuable and much-needed reappraisal of property taxation in both industrailized and developing nations. They offer a road map for policy reform and for further research on the property tax.”
— Wallace Oates, Professor of Economics and Distinguished University Professor, University of Maryland
“The conventional widsom is that the property tax is a desirable tax from both efficiency and distributional standpoints; has significant (albeit often unexploited) revenue potential; and is an instrument of choice to finance local governments. This book presents a number of carefully argued challenges to such "widsom." I found the book thought-provoking and very well documented. I agree with the thrust of its message: property taxes can be efficient and equitable, but only if their sound design is complemented with their transparent administration, based on modern valuation and enforcement techniques.”
— Teresa Ter-Minassian, International Economic Consultant and Former Director of the International Monetary Fund's Fiscal Affairs Department