Property Tax Burdens Are Rising, So Is Interest in Taming Them

​The move to lower and flatter income tax rates has been one of the top state policy trends
of the past decade, with more than half of the nation’s state legislatures cutting personal
income tax rates since 2021. As lawmakers have had success brining down state income
tax rates, however, property tax burdens have been heading in the opposite direction
in many parts of the country. That dynamic has fueled growing interest among state
lawmakers all over the country in reining in rising property tax burdens.

The 2024 election demonstrated the public’s interest in stronger property tax limits.
Georgia voters passed a constitutional amendment capping the rise in home property
assessments at the rate of inflation. Next door in Florida, voters approved Amendment
5, which will tie the homestead exemption — the amount of property valuation for owner-
occupied homes that’s exempt from taxation — to inflation. Amendment 5 was one
of only two constitutional amendments approved by Florida voters in 2024. Even the
notoriously left-leaning electorate in Austin, Texas, meanwhile, rejected a ballot measure
that would’ve raised property tax burdens.
​
There are property tax limitation laws already on the books in 46 states, but they differ
in design and effectiveness. As state lawmakers introduce and debate proposals to limit
or even reduce property tax bills, it’s instructive to examine existing property tax limits
to learn what has and hasn’t been working.

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ATR Property Tax Burdens Brief
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