PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE

In the USA, it is reported that property taxes are rising faster than inflation with the average homeowner last year paying $4,427, up 3.7% from 2024, according to a new analysis from real estate data firm ATTOM.

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By comparison, the Consumer Price Index – a basket of commonly purchased goods and services – rose 2.7% last year. Homeowners in some states have faced considerably larger property tax increases, including an 18% hike in Delaware and an 11.6% jump in Maryland.

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• Property taxes currently generate 70 percent of all local tax revenue, some or all of which would have to be replaced with other taxes under property tax repeal.
• Replacing the property tax with newly granted local taxing authority is exceedingly difficult, because local sales and income tax bases vary widely across jurisdictions; there may, for instance, be no feasible sales tax rate by which an agricultural county or bedroom community could replace its property tax revenue.
• Backfilling forgone local property tax revenue through new state taxes is difficult because it dramatically shifts overall tax burdens, undermines local accountability, and cannot easily adjust for changing population mixes.
• All revenue alternatives are less conducive to economic growth than the existing property tax regime, but some transfer regimes are sharply degrowth.