Improving administration of the property tax: A review of prescriptions and their impacts

Horizontal equity requires uniform property assessment. Unfortunately, assessments of real property show remarkable dispersion. Some of the dispersion is outside the scope of the assessment system, but some can be influenced by better administration. Quantitative studies show that high assessment ratios, better assessment tools, and formal tax relief programs are particularly signficant in reducing dispersion. Higher effective property tax rates also are associated with greater uniformity.