Policymakers may consider a broader, more comprehensive property tax reform that creates a uniform system with effective levy limits to prevent unauthorized increases in property tax revenues and, in most cases, property tax bills.
4 min read
North Dakota’s financial position provides it with a rare capacity to deliver meaningful property tax relief. However, policymakers must balance immediate relief with fiscal sustainability and ensure that local governments remain adequately funded in the years ahead.
5 min read
This legislative session, local taxes are a major topic of debate in Indiana. Although the state’s property tax system is already nationally competitive, dramatic increases in assessed values have created discontent in recent years.
8 min read
Montana’s 2025 legislative session has seen a flurry of property tax reform proposals, a response to the surge in property valuations in the state. Unfortunately, hasty decision-making can result in suboptimal policy outcomes.
6 min read
Facts & Figures serves as a one-stop state tax data resource that compares all 50 states on over 40 measures of tax rates, collections, burdens, and more.
2 min read
With such an important change to Iowa’s property tax system, it’s important that lawmakers get the details right.
33 min read
As the property tax debate continues in Kansas, two new proposals have emerged that are much better structured, and would be more effective, than the assessment limits. However, policymakers should consider additional modifications.
7 min read
Lawmakers should finish the work they have begun over the past few decades, tackling tax rates and structures to give the state a leg up in an era of enhanced competition.
84 min read
With property tax bills on the rise, homeowners are searching for answers—and some even want to abolish the tax altogether. In this episode, we break down why property taxes are increasing, common but flawed solutions, and why the property tax remains an economically efficient revenue source.
Property taxes are the primary tool for financing local governments. While no taxpayers in high-tax jurisdictions will be celebrating their yearly payments, property taxes are largely rooted in the benefit principle of taxation: the people paying the property tax bills are most often the ones benefiting from the services.
9 min read
Wealth taxes not only collect little revenue and create legal uncertainty, but an OECD report argues that they can also disincentivize entrepreneurship, harming innovation and long-term growth.
5 min read
The variety of approaches to taxation among European countries creates a need to evaluate these systems relative to each other. For that purpose, we have developed the European Tax Policy Scorecard—a relative comparison of European countries’ tax systems.
55 min read
The French Revolution provides insight into the relationship between a government and its citizens and serves as a reminder that tax policy can have impacts (big and small) that last for centuries.
As Kansas policymakers consider ways to provide long-term property tax relief, a well-structured, exemption-free levy limit would be a structurally sound and effective reform to consider.
8 min read
Nebraska has an opportunity to revise the property tax package enacted in 2024 to ensure that Nebraskans enjoy meaningful property tax relief.
32 min read
Given the poor state of the budget process and worsening debt trajectory, lawmakers should move boldly and quickly to address the issue, including via a fiscal commission process. Issues to consider should include reforms to both spending and taxes.
42 min read
Thirty-nine states will begin 2025 with notable tax changes, including nine states cutting individual income taxes. Recent years have seen a wave of significant tax reforms, and the changes scheduled for 2025 show that these efforts have not let up.
25 min read
Spain’s central government could learn some valuable lessons from its regional governments and other European countries about sound tax policy.
7 min read
Policymakers can and should address taxpayers’ legitimate grievances about out-of-control property tax bills, but they should do so without upending a system of taxation that is more efficient, fair, and pro-growth, and better suited to municipal finance, than any of the alternatives.
39 min read
The State Tax Competitiveness Index enables policymakers, taxpayers, and business leaders to gauge how their states’ tax systems compare. While there are many ways to show how much state governments collect in taxes, the Index evaluates how well states structure their tax systems and provides a road map for improvement.
115 min read