The property tax assessment system often feels unjust, opaque, and even arbitrary. This has real-world consequences, both for public health and for the financial productivity of our towns and cities.
In 2022 and 2023, a coalition of partners, including Strong Towns, will conduct an in-depth analysis of property tax administration in Western North Carolina. To be clear, Western North Carolina isn’t alone in this problem; there are many regions around the country facing the same issue. We think they will soon look to Western North Carolina as a model of how to fix it.
Latest Stories
The Just Accounting for Health coalition has been researching and reporting on property tax inequities for the past 18 months. But the real work is just getting started—and it starts with you.
Dating back to the 1800s, researchers in the U.S. have challenged the property tax system. So why, to this day, do the richest continue getting a "discount" on their taxes, while the poorest are overcharged?
As Asheville, NC, promises to make up for past harms done to its Black community, it glosses over an ongoing disparity: less-wealthy homeowners (who are disproportionately Black) are overpaying on their property taxes.
Why is this official course from the International Association of Assessing Officers still teaching outdated redlining practices to categorize neighborhoods?
Data from North Carolina points to a nationwide problem: that services may be going unfunded in your community because of flawed processes, sloppy math, and lack of respect for the law in the property tax system.
In Buncombe, NC, flawed computer formulas are being used to generate thousands of dollars in "tax breaks" for owners of larger, more expensive homes.
All over the U.S., studies have shed light on how much residents in lower-valued homes are being overassessed on property taxes. Now, Buncombe County, NC, is offering residents a space to appeal their assessments.
Neighbors in Chapel Hill, NC, mobilized to raise awareness of property tax inequities within their community…and ultimately brought about a $7-million reduction in home assessed values.
This new interactive map shows homeowners how their home assessment compares to other properties nearby—and has exposed that many homes of similar value are being overassessed.
Stunning new data analysis on the homes lost to tax forfeiture in Detroit shows that, in just a three-year span, $300 million in real estate transferred from homeowners living in Detroit to outside owners.
Property taxes represent the largest source of revenue for most local governments, and data shows that even unglamorous downtown areas offer more value as taxable properties than big box stores.
In Baltimore, some of the city’s least wealthy individuals may be overpaying on their property taxes by nearly $300 a year, whereas some of the richest could be underpaying by $14,000 or more.