Property taxes: a targeted approach

The Lincoln Institute has produced a study of the pressures governments face to lower property taxes. Check it out here.

The conclusion: don't wildly cut taxes across the board, if you want to have good schools.

An excerpt from the press release:

States experiencing taxpayer revolts among homeowners are tempted to reduce reliance on the property tax to fund schools.

But a more targeted approach can provide property tax relief and improve state funding
for public education, according to a new Policy Focus Report released today by the
Lincoln Institute of Land Policy.

“Those who have tried to reduce property taxes and improve school performance
at the same time have not met with much success,” said Daphne A. Kenyon, a visiting
fellow at the Lincoln Institute and author of “The Property Tax–School Funding
Dilemma.”

States across the country have been under intense pressure for some time to
reduce the property tax burden on homeowners. At the same time, the demand has been
equally urgent for improved performance in public education, often in the context of
litigation aimed at equitable statewide school funding.