Property tax income falls

It has been announced that the local property tax revenue for the first quarter of 2012 has fallen when compared to the same data for 12 months ago after firming up over the previous two quarters, according to data that has been released by the Rockefeller Institute.

Although the news is not great, it could have been worse. The report detailed: “The housing bust that helped trigger the Great Recession was deeper and broader than any housing decline since the Great Depression.  Property taxes are clearly trending downward and are likely to fall further in the coming quarters.”

While the property tax collected dropped in areas such as Florida, Columbia, Hawaii, Alabama, Indiana and California, it was reported to have “soared” in Texas, Alaska, Maryland and Michigan.  In total 15 states, as well as many local governments, raise a large portion of their money through property taxes. A total of $424 billion was collected in 2009 alone.

The northwest states rely on this income far more than the southern states, which could explain why the drop was more acute in the southern states and the northern states moved to raise taxes to account for the downturn.  In 13 northern states property taxes account for 90% of local taxes, while the District of Columbia has the highest rate of property tax per capita in the country with a ret of $2,985.  Arkansas had the lowest levy, which was reported as $294.

In contrast to this news, it was announced that both income and sales tax revenue increased as the American economy continues its slow recovery.