Database Provides Property Tax Information

A new online database, Significant Features of the Property Tax, provides detailed information about the local property tax authorities and arrangements laid out by each of the state governments.

Created by the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy and the Institute of Public Policy at George Washington University, the website also provides data from the Census of Governments on revenues raised by state and local property taxation. The collaboration will continue and the information will be periodically updated.

“The online database is part of our continuing commitment to put data on our Web site and make it readily accessible,” said Gregory K. Ingram, president of the Lincoln Institute, noting that a database on real estate development by universities is already available, soon to be joined by another database of land values in the U.S.

“Significant Features of the Property Tax reflects our mission of providing data and conducting research on state and local fiscal policy,” said Hal Wolman, director of the George Washington Institute of Public Policy.

The website allows users interested in a specific state to view the information through state summary tables, while those wishing to compare information across states can generate customized tables for multiple states on a specific topic.

The site is organized in these major categories:

General Characteristics of Local Taxation of Property

This section covers real and personal properties that are taxed, basic and differential local property tax rates, local jurisdictions’ use of transfer charges when properties change hands and limits placed by states on local jurisdictions’ authority to use the property tax.

Property Tax Relief and Incentive Programs

All states have programs that use tax policy to encourage particular land uses, and/or provide property tax relief to selected classes of landowners. Property tax relief programs are grouped according to objectives and/or program structure, such as programs intended to provide relief to homeowners, encourage economic development and encourage preservation of farmland and open space.

Structural Arrangements of Property Assessment

Structural arrangements include the land use types in use in each of the states to characterize the property tax base and the assessment standard used to value that property.

Census Data

This section displays statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau's Census of Governments on the property tax in the context of state and local finances. Data for the years 2005, 2002, and 1992 are reported for state and local governments combined, and for state governments and local governments separately. For each year and each set of governments, data are presented for each revenue source in nominal dollars, as a share of all revenues, per capita, and as a percent of personal income.

Details: The database, in the Resources and Tools section of the Lincoln Institute website, can be found at www.lincolninst.edu/subcenters/significant-features-property-tax/.

For general project information, contact Joan Youngman, chairman, Department of Valuation and Taxation, Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, (617) 661-3016, or Hal Wolman, director, George Washington Institute of Public Policy, (202) 994-5713. For questions related to content, please contact Charlotte Kirschner, research associate, George Washington Institute of Public Policy, (202) 994-5170.