What the Original Property Tax Revolutionaries Wanted (It Is Not What You Think): Review of The Permanent Tax Revolt: How the Property Tax Transformed American Politics

This important book convincingly demonstrates that the property tax revolt that culminated in California's Proposition 13 in 1978 originated to a large extent in a surprising, and heretofore unanalyzed phenomenon: the modernization of the collection of the property tax. The import of Proposition 13 is hard to overstate; by all accounts it marked the start of a tax revolt that swept through all levels of American politics. The effects of this revolt are still with us today and a huge amount of scholarship has been generated seeking to explain the nature of this revolt. Isaac Martin's book has the great merit of making an original contribution to a debate many thought was exhausted, offering a new explanation for Proposition 13, one that directly contradicts conventional wisdom, especially in the legal academy.