By Caitlin Young, Photo: Kusska/Shutterstock, Housing Matters, March 15, 2023
Most local governments rely on property taxes to fund amenities and services for their residents, including public schools, libraries, roads, parks, and other public services. Property tax rates vary significantly by locality but generally are calculated based on assessments of property values conducted by local assessors’ offices. That means that if assessed values are accurate, property owners are paying a flat tax, with each household contributing the same share of their property value.
But evidence suggests property taxes actually function as a regressive tax, meaning they take a higher income percentage from households with low incomes than from those with high incomes. This regressivity is linked with systemic racism in the US housing system, resulting in homeowners of color, particularly Black homeowners, paying disproportionately high property taxes relative to the market value of their homes. State and local policymakers have a few options to address these disparities.
Racist histories of property tax implementation and enforcement
Historically, property taxes were used as a mechanism for benefitting white landowners while harming Black communities. Take, for instance, Alabama’s constitutional property tax limits, which were adopted during its 1875 and 1901 constitutional conventions. In response to advances in civil rights for Black Americans during the Reconstruction period, these conventions were held to “establish white supremacy in this state.” Convention participants implemented restrictive property tax limits to ensure white landowners wouldn’t be responsible for funding education and other public services for Black Alabamans.
Comments (0)