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by nradov 1408 days ago
Most of the laws regarding property taxes are set at the state level, not the municipal level. In California, a voter in Modesto can influence tax rates in San Francisco. Local votes only control minor things like special additional school district assessments.
3 comments
lotsofpulp 1408 days ago
That is a California specific phenomenon due to various caps they put at state level on the rate at which property taxes can be increased
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nradov 1407 days ago
Even in other states which lack property tax caps, the basic framework within which tax rates are set is controlled at the state level. For example, some economists have proposed replacing property taxes with land value taxes but it would be impossible for a single city to do so without enabling state legislation.
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lotsofpulp 1407 days ago
Interesting. I assumed counties/cities are relatively free to set property tax rates according to their budget, and the city needing to compete with other cities is what keeps them relatively in line.
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TuringNYC 1408 days ago
That may be how things work in California, but it definitely does not work like that everywhere in the US. For example, here in NJ, property taxes are partly set by the state, but the schools portion is set my the county and township.
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Kon-Peki 1407 days ago
Yeah, here in IL property tax is 100% local (state law sets limits and requirements only). And everything is an independent government body with taxing authority.

The city collects its taxes, the school district collects its taxes, the library collects its taxes, fire district, road department, forest preserve, etc. None of them can tell the other to do anything - they are all independent with independent funding. The county has its own taxes, but also has the function of actually providing the payment, billing and distribution services. So you only have to make a single payment.

By the way, property taxes in Florida work nearly the same as California and they don't have any problem building lots of housing.

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namlem 1407 days ago
That's not true in most states, that's a California thing. Property taxes usually are set at the local level.
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