The Changing Property Tax in the West : State Centralization of Local Finances

The traditional role of the property tax as the fiscal mainstay of local governments in the United States has been much diminished in the last two decades. Because of restrictions imposed by state governments and statewide electorates, the property tax has become more of a fiscal and political tool for state policymakers, losing much of its local character. Local governments in a number of states have much less control of the rates and yields of this major revenue source, giving up in the process a certain amount of fiscal autonomy. The trend is a national one, but it is particularly evident in the 13-state West in part because of the relatively extensive use in this region of voter initiatives that restrict this and other revenue sources. In detailing the restrictions adopted in recent years by individual western states as a result of voter initiatives and legislative actions, this paper demonstrates the centralization of the property tax and its reduced role as the principal source of fiscal discretion for local governments