A new generation of state property tax relief efforts: How successful have they been?

In response to taxpayer pressures, many states have imposed limits on local use of the property tax. This paper tests the hypotheses that recent state initiatives have reduced local property tax burdens and have been more constraining than limits that were in effect before 1978. The data indicate that a majority of states experienced a more rapid decline in property tax burdens in the last ten years than during the decade before enactment of Proposition 13 in California. This recent decline in property tax burdens is, in part, a result of a new generation of state initiatives to reduce local reliance on the property tax which tend to be more constraining than state limits imposed before 1978. These new initiatives rely on programs that lie outside traditional property tax systems. These new property tax relief programs need to be systematically evaluated to determine their net impact on the equity and efficiency of the local revenue structure.