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1 J. Scott Moody, State and Local Property Tax Collections: Total Collections Reach Unprecedented Levels 1 (1999)

handle is hein.taxfoundation/srjbxz0001 and id is 1 raw text is: TAX Tm FOUNDATION PLEASE DO NOT CITE. AN UPDATED VERSION OF THIS STUDY IS AVAILABLE. PLEASE CALL (202) 464-6200. October 1999 No. 91 State and Local Property Tax Collections Total Collections Reach Unprecedented Levels In 1999, state and local governments across the United States will collect an estimated $232 billion in property taxes. Approximately 95 percent of this total, $221 billion, will be collected by local government units including counties, cities, and school districts. Fifty Years of Property Taxes As shown in Figure 1 and Table 1, property tax collections (adjusted for inflation) in the United States, with one notable exception, have been rising steadily since 1950. The one excep- tion occurred in the 1970s when a series of tax revolts, epitomized by California's Proposition 13, caused property tax collections to level out and for a handful of years to decline. However, since 1981 when the drop in property tax collections bottomed out, total property taxes have climbed 69 percent. Between 1950 and 1972, real state and Figure 1 State and Local Property Tax Collections in Constant (1999) Dollars Fiscal Years 1950-1999 $250,000 $225,000 $200,000 $175,000 $150,000 $125,000 $100,000 $75,000 $50,000 $25,000 0 Source: Tax Foundation State and Local Local State J Scott Moody Economist Tax Foundation '50 '52 '54 '56 '58 '60 '62 '64 '66 '68 '70 '72 '74 '76 '78 '80 '82 '84 '86 '88 '90 '92 '94 '96 '98e Year -1 .