Property Tax Collection Research Articles

A Computer Simulation for Teaching School Finance

An important public policy issue is the allocation and distribution of revenues among different levels of government. The branch of economics that studies intergovernmental fiscal relations provides an excellent description of the anticipated impact that can be expected when there are changes in the level of intergovernmental fiscal aid from one level of government to another [see, for example, Musgrave and Musgrave, 1989]. Despite this theoretical understanding, it is often difficult for policymakers and students of public policy to fully understand the policy and revenue implications of changes in the distribution of funds from one level of government to another. Equally important, the redistribution of resources often creates difficult political issues in the Congress or state legislatures. This article describes a computer simulation that was developed to help students of educational finance develop a better understanding of the revenue and policy effects of changes in school finance distribution formulas. Through this understanding, policymakers and students of school finance will also gain more knowledge about the potential political implications of changes to the way funds are allocated to school districts. It is indicative of the kinds of simulations that can be developed in other policy settings to understand what happens when the fiscal relationship between one level of government and another is changed. The field of school finance studies the allocation and distribution of public funds to school districts within a state. State school finance formulas are designed to equalize differences in local school district ability to raise funds from their own property tax collections. The typical state distribution formula provides fiscal aid to districts in inverse relationship to its own fiscal capacity, usually measured in terms of assessed property value per pupil. Some states include a measure of personal income in the determination of a district's fiscal capacity. The goal of a school funding formula is to reduce revenue disparities among school districts that result from differences in fiscal capacity, and to move the state toward fiscal neutrality. If a state were to create a totally fiscally neutral system, each school district's revenue per pupil would be determined entirely on the level of property tax effort it expended, regardless of its assessed valuation per pupil. Because of the large amount of money spent on our nation's public schools, most graduate programs in educational leadership offer courses designed to teach students the basics of school finance. Although each of the 50 states uses a different funding allocation formula, there are a relatively small number of basic principles and formulas that govern the distribution of state funds to

Property Tax Reform in Indonesia: Applying A Collection-Led Implementation Strategy

As part of its comprehensive 1984 tax reform, the government of Indonesia undertook a radical overhaul of the property tax system. The reform was carried out in two stages. The first entailed a major revision of the legal structure during which seven land-related taxes were replaced with a single Land and Building Tax in 1986. The second stage involved a major restructuring of the tax administration and its procedures. In addition to reorganising the tax department, the government adopted a collection-led implementation strategy for its reform activities and introduced a number of innovative procedures for property tax collection and enforcement, property information collection and management, and property valuation and assessment. This paper provides an analysis of that reform effort.

Tax Limits and Property Values

Over the past two decades, a number of states have passed legislation designed to provide property tax relief. These measures have varied greatly in scope and effectiveness; they have included limits on property tax rates, collections, assessments, revenues, and expenditures. Some have been aimed at holding down increases in taxes and expenditures; others, at forcing actual decreases.1 The well-publicized Proposition 13 in California and Proposition 21/2 in Massachusetts are examples of the latter. The neoclassical theory of capitalization of pure rents suggests that a measure that lowers tax rates on nonreproducible assets will raise the market price of those assets; indeed, there exists a set of assumptions which lead to the conclusion that such tax capitalization is the only effect of the limitation. But such strong assumptions are not necessarily valid in the housing market, a prime focus of tax limitation legislation. Consider legislation of the form used in California and Massachusetts, which forces property tax rates, expressed as a proportion of market value, to levels lower than had previously prevailed. Will capitalization of these reductions occur? Will it occur to the extent that the benefits of tax reduction accrue to those who own property at the time the legislation is passed, and not to future owners, or to present or future renters of housing services? When uniform rates are mandated, what differential effects among communities are to be expected? These are the questions addressed in this paper. The first two sections develop a model appropriate as a reference point for the housing market, making explicit the as-

Property Taxation in Bogota, Colombia: An Analysis of Poor Revenue Performance

Property taxation is an important local revenue source in many cities of developing countries, but one which suffers frequently from sluggish revenue growth. For the case of Bogota (Colombia) this poor revenue performance is explained by a low rate of growth in the market value of properties. This result follows from a review of the property tax structure, assessment procedures, collection practices, and exemption policies, and from an analysis of property value growth. Some policy recommendations for improved revenue performance are suggested; but since increased reliance on property taxation in Bogota would imply repeated discretionary and highly visible policy actions, the likelihood of an expanding role of property taxation in that city appears slim. While different conclusions might be derived for other cities, the analytical approach chosen for this study may be applied elsewhere.

PROPOSITION 13—GENESIS AND CONSEQUENCES

Previous article No AccessPROPOSITION 13—GENESIS AND CONSEQUENCESWILLIAM H. OAKLANDWILLIAM H. OAKLAND Search for more articles by this author PDFPDF PLUS Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by National Tax Journal Volume 32, Number 2June 1979Supplement: Proceedings of a Conference on Tax and Expenditure Limitations Published for: The National Tax Association Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1086/NTJ41863190 Views: 38Total views on this site © 1979 National Tax Association. All rights reserved.PDF download Crossref reports no articles citing this article.

The Response of City Government Revenues to Changes in Employment Structure

In this paper, a model similar to that developed by Bahl and Greytak is used to examine the impact of changes in a city's employment based upon its property tax collections. The results indicate that expansion in the mercantile sector has a positive ...

Collection of Delinquent Real Property Taxes by Action "In Personam"

The increase in real property tax delinquency has directed attention to the discovery of effective tax collection devices. In turn, consideration of new methods of collection revives the somewhat more ancient problem of the enforcement of real property tax claims by obtaining a personal judgment against the taxpayer.' Thus a report of a committee of the National Municipal League contains a model real property tax collection law with a provision that residents of the state who are owners of real property within the state shall be personally liable for taxes levied against such property, such liability to be enforced by appropriate action as for a debt.2 In contrast, a report issued by the Committee on Tax Delinquency of the National Tax Association indicates that personal but not real property taxes should be the subject of a judgment in personam.3 Neither report reveals the effect of their respective conclusions on the problem of real property tax collection nor discusses to any great extent the legal implications of their respective provisions relating to the collection of real property tax claims by means of personal judgments. These two related considerations-the practical effect of a given method of tax collection, and the legal questions presented by its adoption and use-deserve scrutiny before the suggestion of either committee is accepted by a taxing unit.

A model real property tax collection law

A model real property tax collection law