Review by Choice Review
Tax policy expert Brunori argues for a revitalization of property taxation to strengthen American local government. His case has these main points. Local governments play a critical role in providing government services vital to the American standard of living. They need fiscal autonomy to be fully responsive to their citizens, and these governments have historically relied on the real property tax. The tax has no good substitutes, and immobility of the property base makes it uniquely suitable to local use. Unfortunately, the viability of the property tax is strained by politics and by the movement away from a manufacturing economy. States have added limits to the local use of property taxes, and reliance on the tax has been in secular decline. Brunori believes in the need for a property tax counterrevolution to increase its yield as a means for preserving strong local governments. The counterrevolt should retain protections for low-income households, constrain exemptions, remedy school finance disparities, and adopt principles of split-rate taxation (higher rates on land than on improvements). The US would be better off if lawmakers and the media paid attention to this thoughtful and lucid book. ^BSumming Up: Highly recommended. Public; academic, upper-division undergraduate through faculty; and professional collections. J. L. Mikesell Indiana University-Bloomington
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
