Property Taxes Cuts on the Ballot in at Least Eight States

From completely eliminating property tax to creating new exemptions, voters in eight states across the country will cast their votes on a variety of ballot measures that could have major implications for local budgets.

2 minute read

August 18, 2024, 11:13 AM PDT

By Mary Hammon @marykhammon


Historic homes with intricate white trim on tree-lined street in Richmond, Virginia.

DRWelch / Adobe Stock

According to an article in Stateline, measures aimed at reducing property taxes will be on the ballot in at least eight states this November: Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, New Mexico, North Dakota, Virginia, and Wyoming. The move comes as home market values, which have increased about 50 percent since August 2019, are starting to impact property assessments, and home owners are feeling the pinch.

“No state illustrates this year’s flurry of ballot measures to cut property taxes better than Colorado,” where “one ballot initiative would cap annual state property tax revenue growth from residential and commercial properties at 4%” and another, which has not currently qualified for the ballot but is expected to, “would cut residential and commercial property tax assessment rates,” reports Stateline’s Elaine S. Povich.

Property taxes have always been unpopular, despite being a fairly efficient form of taxation; experts posit that’s because they are often “paid in a large lump a couple or so times a year — as opposed to income taxes or sales taxes, which are paid in dribbles — they tend to leave a bigger impression on taxpayers,” Povich writes. Some groups in Colorado want an even higher cap than 4 percent, but some say the ballot measure go too far and risk eroding the funding source for critical government services like schools, roads, emergency responders, and other local government services.

Here’s a quick summary of the property-tax related ballot measures beyond Colorado:

  • Arizona: Property owners could “apply for a property tax refund if the municipality does not enforce laws against illegal camping, loitering, panhandling, public urination, public consumption of alcohol and possession of illegal substances. 
  • Florida: State would allow adjust the homestead exemption according to annual inflation for people whose properties are their primary residence
  • Georgia: Localities could create a homestead exemption for homeowners who use a property as their primary residence.
  • New Mexico: Veterans would get more property tax breaks.
  • North Dakota: Property taxes would be eliminated entirely, which experts say could cost the state $1.3 billion per year.
  • Virginia: Veterans would get more property tax breaks.
  • Wyoming: State would create a new class of property for taxation, separating owner-occupied dwellings from rental properties.

Tuesday, August 13, 2024 in Stateline

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Get top-rated, practical training

Close-up of "Apartment for rent" sign in red text on black background in front of blurred building

Trump Administration Could Effectively End Housing Voucher Program

Federal officials are eyeing major cuts to the Section 8 program that helps millions of low-income households pay rent.

April 21, 2025 - Housing Wire

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

April 23, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Black and white photos of camp made up of small 'earthquake shacks' in Dolores Park in 1906 after the San Francisco earthquake.

The 120 Year Old Tiny Home Villages That Sheltered San Francisco’s Earthquake Refugees

More than a century ago, San Francisco mobilized to house thousands of residents displaced by the 1906 earthquake. Could their strategy offer a model for the present?

April 15, 2025 - Charles F. Bloszies

Millbrae BART station.

HSR Reaches Key Settlement in Northern California City

The state’s high-speed rail authority reached an agreement with Millbrae, a key city on the train’s proposed route to San Francisco.

April 24 - San Diego Post

Spiral ramp on exterior of parking garage in downtown Spokane, Washington.

Washington State Legislature Passes Parking Reform Bill

A bill that would limit parking requirements for new developments is headed to the governor’s desk.

April 24 - OPB

Missouri state capitol dome in Jefferson City, MO.

Missouri Law Would Ban Protections for Housing Voucher Users

A state law seeks to overturn source-of-income discrimination bans passed by several Missouri cities.

April 24 - Missouri Independent