Making Ends Meet: Options for Property Tax Reform in Detroit

Current property tax policies in Michigan severely constrain the ability of the City of Detroit to raise sufficient revenues, particularly in a weak economy. Almost half of the land area of the city does not contribute to the property tax effort and the valuation of the taxable properties has fallen...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Journal of urban affairs 2014-10, Vol.36 (4), p.682-700
Main Authors:	Sands, Gary, Skidmore, Mark
Format:	Article
Language:	eng
Subjects:	Assessment Cities Economic conditions Economics Land Land values Michigan Politics Property Property tax Property taxes Real property Tax reform The Americas Urban policy USA Valuation
Online Access:	Get full text
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Summary:	Current property tax policies in Michigan severely constrain the ability of the City of Detroit to raise sufficient revenues, particularly in a weak economy. Almost half of the land area of the city does not contribute to the property tax effort and the valuation of the taxable properties has fallen substantially since the Great Recession. This article considers alternative definitions of the city's tax base, including taxes based on land value or land area, as well as special assessments for specific services. These reform options are found to have considerably different impacts on different classes of real property.
ISSN:	0735-2166 1467-9906