Voters in a half-dozen states approved ballot items aimed at cutting property taxes, but a measure in North Dakota that would have eliminated the property tax entirely proved a bridge too far.
Arizona, Florida, Georgia, New Mexico, Virginia and Wyoming passed ballot measures to cut taxes for some or all property owners.
But in North Dakota, a coalition of police, firefighters, teachers, real estate agents and many other groups that rely on funding from local governments successfully convinced voters that eliminating the property tax would cripple local services. The Action failed.
“The people of North Dakota are frustrated with property taxes, but Measure 4 was not the right way to enact reform,” Chad Oban, chairman of the Keep It Local coalition, said in a statement. “The 113 coalition members succeeded in educating North Dakota voters about the dangers of Measure 4. Local officials will continue to work with their constituents to make thoughtful decisions about funding and what is best for their communities.”
He suggested that the state legislature begin property tax reform in January.
The proposed constitutional amendment would have prohibited state and local governments from taxing the assessed value of real estate and required state lawmakers to replace the roughly $1.3 billion a year in lost revenue. If passed, North Dakota would have become the only state without property taxes, according to the conservative Tax Foundation.
Proponents of the measure had argued that it would limit government spending and that lawmakers had other pots of money to replace lost revenue.
Former Republican Rep. Rick Becker, a referendum campaign leader, told Stateline earlier this year that many residents in his state hate property taxes.
“Does your property really belong to you if the government can take it away from you?” he said, referring to cases in which people who fail to pay their taxes face foreclosure on their homes.
Property tax increases across the country are driven by increases in residential and commercial property values due to inflation and shrinking inventory. And experts say these taxes often make a bigger impression on taxpayers because they often come in gigantic sums a few times a year — unlike income or sales taxes, which come in diminutive drops.
Two proposed property tax initiatives in Colorado – to reduce property taxes and limit the annual growth in revenue they generate for the state – have been withdrawn from the vote after the Legislature, Democratic Gov. Jared Polis and the groups behind the initiatives agreed on one Compromise legislation had been agreed. This law reduces property taxes by a smaller amount over the next two years.
In Arizona, the problem was tied to homelessness and vagrancy issues. voters approved a measure that allows property owners to seek a property tax refund if their municipality does not enforce laws against illegal camping, loitering, panhandling, public urination, public consumption of alcohol and possession of illegal substances.
Republican supporters argue that the measure will force local governments to enforce these bans. But cities rejected the measure, saying it would put them in a complex legal and fiscal position when dealing with homelessness.
Florida voters backed a measure to give homeowners larger tax breaks as the cost of living rises. It will establish an annual inflation adjustment equal to the assessed value of a home that qualifies for a home property tax exemption.
Similarly, voters in Georgia approved a ballot measure aimed at limiting property tax increases as property values rise. It will allow for a statewide homestead exemption that limits increases in the assessed value of homes but allows communities to opt out of the exemption.
Voters in New Mexico and Virginia overwhelmingly approved ballot measures to give veterans and their surviving spouses more property tax breaks.
Voters in Wyoming passed a measure creating a fresh property category for taxation, allowing lawmakers to classify owner-occupied primary residences in a separate category from rental properties.
