This Is Just Accounting
Together, we can build communities that are more just, transparent and prosperous for all.
The Problem
The property tax assessment system often feels unjust, opaque, and even arbitrary. This has real-world consequences, both for public health and for the financial productivity of our towns and cities.
Away from the public view, the property tax burden is being shifted from people who own larger, expensive properties, to people who own smaller, cheaper homes (often those who are less affluent, including many people of color). This broken assessment system subsidizes a development pattern that is bankrupting our towns and cities.
There is also growing evidence of a causal relationship between greater financial burden and increased risk of negative health outcomes such as chronic disease. Public wealth and public health rise and fall together. A capricious tax assessment system ultimately becomes a driver of health disparities.
In other words, this is too important to not fix.
The Project
In 2022 and 2023, a coalition of local and national partners will conduct an in-depth analysis of property tax administration in all 18 counties of Western North Carolina.
Property taxes represent the largest source of public revenue for local governments in Western North Carolina.
However, our research, along with emerging national evidence, suggests there are long-standing inequities in property tax administration that place unfair financial burdens on low income residents and communities of color.
These disparities may have cascading impacts on housing affordability, gentrification, displacement, household economics, and may ultimately become a driver of community health disparities.
We know firsthand the frustrations of a broken assessment system. Many of us work every day with the people in Western North Carolina most adversely affected by it. We also know that Western North Carolina isn’t alone in this problem; there are many regions around the country facing the same issue. We think they will soon look to Western North Carolina as a model of how to fix it.
Our Promise
A conversation around arbitrary, unfair, and opaque property tax assessment systems?
To some it might seem wonky. To others it is fraught with ideological landmines like wealth and poverty, race, and housing policies.
Our pledge to you is that we will shed light on this complex issue using clear, accessible language and compelling visualizations.
We will refrain from making assumptions.
We will handle the ideological landmines above in a way that serves a greater purpose and refrains from driving unnecessary wedges between neighbors.
Finally, we pledge to back up what we say with the numbers.
This is, after all, just accounting.