Report Compares Property Taxes Around the Country

The Lincoln Institute of Land Policy has released its "50-State Property Tax Comparison Study" in partnership with the Minnesota Center for Fiscal Excellence. The goal of the study, according to the Lincoln Institute's website, is to provide accurate data as a foundation for "sound governmental decision-making."

The study examines "effective property tax rates," defined as the actual tax payment as a percentage of market value. As quoted from a press release announcing the report, here are a few of the key points that exemplify the wide variations in property tax policy around the country:

• "Bridgeport, Connecticut continues to impose the highest taxes on median-value homes in urban cities, with an effective rate above 4 percent.
• "The lowest rate, in Columbia, South Carolina, is slightly above .6 percent." 
• "The decline in real values in Detroit leaves it with high effective tax rates, but a new revaluation initiative in the city may reduce that rate in the future." 
• "The New England region, with its heavy reliance on property taxes, has the highest effective homestead rates, but the Midwest leads with the highest effective rates on commercial property."
• "There was no change between 2012 and 2013 in the top 5 cities with the highest property tax bills on a median-value home."