A Socioeconomic Analysis of Property Assessment Uniformity: Empirical Evidence on the Role of Policy

Abstract

Though property assessment uniformity has been repeatedly studied as a technical problem related to the difficulty of the task, popular, and policy sentiment against the property tax is frequently directed at the incidence of nonuniformity across socioeconomic groups. Using data from Virginia, this paper brings socioeconomic determinants to the forefront of the analysis and their interaction with policy. Unlike the previous literature that employs controls for the time passed since the last reassessment, this paper consider show policy and socioeconomic variables may exert different influences between assessments. For example, the results indicate that elected and appointed assessors perform similarly during mass reappraisals in terms of maintaining uniformity, but appointed assessors perform far better during nonassessment years.A land tax assessed according to a general survey and valuation, how equal soever it may be at first, must, in the course of a very moderate period of time, become unequal. To prevent its becoming so would require the continual and painful attention of government to all the variations in the state and produce of every different farm in the country … an attention so unsuitable to the nature of government, that it is not likely to be of long continuance, and which, if it is continued, will probably, in the long-run, occasion much more trouble and vexation than it can possibly bring relief to the contributors.

Managerial Experience and Organizational Performance: A 15‐Year Panel Study of Local Assessors

“…Despite studying the same state as Propheter (), the null effect is unique, a result possibly attributable to differences in estimation strategy, time period studied, and independent variables. Moreover, consistent with Ross (), counties with higher concentrations of senior homeowners assess less uniformly than counties with lower concentrations of senior homeowners. It has been suggested that the effect could be politically motivated (Ross ).…”

“…However, as senior concentration grows, there is less opportunity to shift tax burdens to nonseniors. Ross () found that jurisdictions in Virginia with higher concentrations of seniors had poorer assessment uniformity in nonrevaluation years than jurisdictions with lower concentrations of seniors. Thus, I expect the coefficient to be positive here.…”

“…The manager in question, the local assessor, is an elected official who is legally responsible for the administration of property assessments. While the performance of assessors has been a fruitful line of research for some time (Bowman and Mikesell ; Ross ), assessor experience has been overlooked. Moreover, at three times longer than the second‐longest panel in the public sector performance literature (Meier and O'Toole ), the data set allows for a more thorough examination of organizational performance vis‐à‐vis managerial experience over time.…”

Moving Beyond the Influence of Neighbors on Policy Diffusion: Local Influences on Decisions to Conduct Property Tax Reassessment in New York

“…Recognizing the complex nature of property revaluation, a body of previous literature has empirically explored the determinants of property tax assessment uniformity. The findings revealed that reducing assessment errors (revaluation lag) and improving assessment uniformity (quality) may rely on, for example, the local economy, housing market conditions, and assessor characteristics (i.e., full-time vs. part-time or local vs. state or private assessors) (Bowman & Mikesell, 1978, 1989; Ross, 2013), the number of years of experience an assessor has (Propheter, 2016), the institutional types of assessors (elected vs. appointed assessors) (Bowman & Mikesell, 1989; Lowery, 1984; Ross, 2012), the quality and quantity of the personnel (sufficient staffing with well-trained, professional assessors) (Eom, 2008; Mehta & Giertz, 1996), or neighborhood characteristics (socioeconomic status) (Allen & Dare, 2002; Heavey, 1983). In addition, in a broader manner, maintaining fair and accurate property tax assessments can depend largely on a state’s institutional constraints on local governments, including the requirements for a specific reassessment cycle 7 (e.g., annual, longer, or none) and the level of governments whose assessment functions.…”

Government Consolidation in Property Tax Administration

“… 2. The higher the assessment quality ratio—the more homogenous and accurate are the assessments (Bowman and Mikesell 1978; Sjoquist and Walker 1999; IAAO 2010; Ross 2013; Krupa 2015a; Propheter 2016). The lag in the coefficient of dispersion aims to correct for the endogeneity between assessment cost and assessment quality. …”