Tenants and Homeowners Under Property Tax Relief

Abstract

Clamor for property tax relief is universal among the states. Such relief is generally considered to be egalitarian, although seldom has any attempt been made to study its redistributive effects, particularly between homeowners and tenants. This study examines the redistributive effects of property tax relief measures enacted by the state of New Jersey in 1976. The results indicate that the relief measures engender a considerable subsidy from tenants to homeowners. Adoption of property tax relief measures prevailing in New Jersey would lead to a substantial reinforcement of the tax preferences already enjoyed by homeowners under the federal income tax legislation.

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Aaron, H. (1975) Who Pays the Property Tax Washington, DC: Brookings Institution.

— (1974) "A new view of the property tax incidence." Amer. Economic Rev.: Papers and Proceedings 64: 212-221.

Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations (1979a) State Limitations in Local Taxes and Expenditures Washington, DC: Author.

—( 1979b) Significant Features of Fiscal Federation, 1978-79 Washington, DC: Author.

— (1975) Property Tax Circuit Beakers: Current Status and Policy Issues Washington, DC: Author .

——— (1974) The Property Tax in a Changing Environment Washington, DC: Author.

Boskin, J.J. (1972) "Taxation, saving, and rate of interest." J. of Political Economy 80: S3-S27.

Brazer, H.E. (1961) "The value of industrial property as a subject of taxation." Canadian Public Administration 55: 137-147.

Break, G.F. (1974) "The incidence and economic effects of taxation," pp. 119-237 in Economics of Public Finance. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution.

10.

Dowgin, G.M. (1977) "New Jersey's property tax in 1977." New Jersey Municipalities 54 (November): 20-22; 26-27.

11.

Downing, P.B. and G.L. Brady (1970) "Constrained self interest and the formation of public policy." Public Choice 34: 15-28.

12.

Eapen, A.T. and A.N. Eapen (1973) "Income redistributive effects of state and local fiscs: Connecticut, a case study." Public Finance Q. 1: 372-387.

13.

Feldstein, M. (1977) "The surprising incidence of a tax on pure rent: A new answer to an old question." J. of Political Economy 85: 349-360.

14.

Ladin, J. (1978) "Analysis of the homestead rebate." Trenton: Office of Fiscal Affairs, Division of Budget Review, New Jersey State Legislature, February. (unpublished)

15.

McLure, C.E. (1977) "The new view of the property tax: A caveat." National Tax J. 30: 69-75.

16.

Mieskowski, P. (1972) "The property tax: An excise or a profit tax." J. of Public Economics 1: 73-96.

17.

Musgrave, R.A. (1959) The Theory of Public Finance New York: McGraw-Hill.

18.

——— and P.B. Musgrave (1980) Public Finance in Theory and Practice New York: McGraw-Hill.

19.

Musgrave, R.A. , K.E. Case , and H. Leonard (1974) "The distribution of fiscal burdens and benefits." Public Finance Q. 2: 259-311.

20.

Netzer, D. (1973) "The incidence of the property tax revisited." Natl. Tax J. 26: 515-535.

21.

Pechman, J.A. and B.A. Okner (1974) Who Bears the Tax Burden? Washington, DC: Brookings Institution.

22.

PETERSON, G. E. [ed.](1973) Property Tax Reform. Washington, DC: Urban Institute.

23.

Report of the New Jersey Commission on Government Costs and Tax Policy ( 1977). Trenton : Author.

24.

State of New Jersey (1979a) Statistics of Income, 1977 Income Tax Returns Trenton: Author.

25.

——— (1979b) Owner Occupied Housing Statistics from Homestead Rebate and Income Tax Data Match Trenton: Author.

26.

Thurow, L.C. (1975) "The economics of public finance." Natl. Tax J. 28: 185-194.

27.

U.S. Bureau of the Census (1977) Census of Agriculture, 1974, Vol. I, Part 30, New Jersey, State and County Data Washington, DC: Government Printing Office.

28.

——— (1976) Census of Manufacturers, 1972, Vol. III, Area Statistics Washington, DC: Government Printing Office.

29.

——— (1975) Census of Transportation, 1972, Commodity Transportation Survey, Area Series: Area Report 2 Washington, DC: Government Printing Office.

30.

U.S. Department of Commerce, Industry and Trade Administration (1978) State Export Series, Exports, New Jersey Washington, DC: Government Printing Office.

31.

U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics (1978) Consumer Expenditure Survey : Interview Survey, 1972-73, Vol. 2: Regional Tables (Bulletin 1997, Table II Washington, DC: Government Printing Office.