States experiencing taxpayer revolts among homeowners are tempted to reduce reliance on the property tax to fund schools. But a more targeted approach can provide property tax relief and improve state funding for public education. This policy focus report  includes a comprehensive review of recent research on both property tax and school funding, and summarizes case studies of seven states— California, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Ohio and Texas. The majority of these states are heavily reliant on property tax revenues to fund schools. While there is no one-size-fits-all solution, the report recommends addressing property taxes and school funding separately.

The Property Tax-School Funding Dilemma (Policy Focus Reports)

Politics & Social Sciences

Kenyon, Daphne A.

Social Sciences

Lincoln Institute of Land Policy

Payments in lieu of taxes (PILOT) programs for nonprofits provide crucial revenue for many municipalities, but they are not perfect. Through case studies and research, this report provides guidelines for when municipalities should consider PILOTs, highlights the importance of municipal-nonprofit collaboration, and outlines alternative ways to raise revenues from tax-exempt nonprofits.

Payments in Lieu of Taxes: Balancing Municipal and Nonprofit Interests (Policy Focus Reports)

Business & Money

Langley, Adam H.

Real Estate

State and local governments use many types of property tax incentives to increase business development. This report reviews those incentives, summarizes the literature regarding their effectiveness, and makes recommendations for reforming their use to help policy makers and local government officials improve the odds of achieving their development goals.

Rethinking Property Tax Incentives for Business (Policy Focus Reports)

Paquin, Bethany P.

Because most children throughout the world attend elementary and secondary schools near their homes, where they live usually determines where they go to school. In the United States, the relationship between residential location and education has been especially strong given the dominance of local funding and local control of K–12 education. School quality varies markedly among the more than 14,000 school districts across the United States and within many of the country’s large urban districts. Housing prices reflect school quality; houses in better school districts or more advantaged neighborhoods of large districts sell at a premium. In other words, school quality is capitalized into the price of land. The chapters in this volume explore the links between education, location, and land based on the proceedings of the 8th Annual Land Policy Conference of the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy. Three policy outcomes are the focus: academic achievement of schoolchildren; racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic segregation; and equality of opportunity, all of which have broad relevance to U.S. public policy. The topics include the expansion of school choice, especially through charter schools and home schooling; the importance of cognitive skills for economic growth; the role of the property tax in school finance and alternative revenue sources; the structure of school districts; transportation to school; effects of school location; and housing policies that can unlink education and location. This volume features the papers presented at the Lincoln Institute's 8th annual Land Policy Conference in June 2013.

Education, Land, and Location (Land Policy Series)

Education & Teaching

Ingram, Gregory K.

Schools & Teaching

This report focuses on the roles of the local property tax and state aid in the funding of public education and analyzes their strengths and weaknesses. A key theme is the property tax-school funding dilemma--the challenge of overcoming the shortcomings of both the local property tax and state aid in a way that assures that state school funding systems can finance an adequate education for all students in an equitable and efficient manner. 
Case studies of five states (California, Massachusetts, South Carolina, Texas, and Wisconsin) illustrate the complexities of the dilemma. The report concludes with 11 recommendations. Some recommendations focus on ways to make the local property tax more equitable and efficient; others suggest ways to improve state aid for K-12 education. A final recommendation argues for an expansion of federal education aid to assist low-income states and to address learning loss arising from the COVID19 pandemic.

Rethinking the Property Tax–School Funding Dilemma (Policy Focus Reports)

Reschovsky, Andrew

Economics

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