Property Tax Revolt Threatens Schools, Police, Parks

In Charlestown, Indiana, a public park with mini golf, a splash pad and a roller-skating rink now operates four days a week instead of seven. Residents on cul-de-sacs have been told their streets won't be cleared right away this winter because the city can't pay snowplow drivers overtime. The town is growing, thanks to a former ammunition plant being redeveloped into jobs and new residents—a kind of growth that would normally lift property tax revenue. Yet the city is trimming its budget. It's a preview of what a spreading campaign to abolish or sharply reduce property taxes could mean for communities across the country.

The campaign has reached more than two dozen states over the past two years, fueled by rising home prices, mortgage rates and insurance bills. Home values have climbed an average of 50% nationwide since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. According to a Lincoln Institute of Land Policy analysis of U.S. Census data, the median annual property tax payment rose 25% from 2019 to 2024, an increase of more than $600. In Ohio, typical bills have climbed to nearly $3,000 a year.

A Grassroots Push With High Stakes

At a flea market in Hartville, Ohio, dozens of people signed petitions to abolish property taxes. “I'm old. I've paid my home off,” said Ray Warner, a 72-year-old Akron resident. “Why would I pay property tax?” Brian Massie, 79, leads the Ohio ballot initiative and says volunteers have collected 300,000 signatures. Political observers believe the measure could qualify for the ballot next year. Activists say the taxes make homeowners “vassals,” paying rent to the government to use their own homes.

The money at stake is enormous. The levy brings state and local governments about $800 billion a year, or about 70% of local tax collections. Replacing the $24 billion Ohio would lose would require the state's average income tax rate to rise to just under 13%, according to the Tax Foundation—nearly as high as the rate paid by millionaires in California.

Who Pays the Price

Budget advisers to Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, a moderate Republican, warned that abolishing the tax “would quite literally 'defund' the police,” with fire departments, schools and libraries facing the same fate. Robert Butler, a past president of the Ohio Association of Chiefs of Police and police chief in Independence, put it bluntly: “You're actually talking the immediate forced liquidation of patrol units and the degradation of emergency response. You're gonna wipe them out.” Cities, counties, schools, labor unions, hospitals and chambers of commerce have formed coalitions to oppose the cuts.

Massie called those warnings alarmist. “We're not anarchists,” he said, arguing that people should pay for the services they use, not those they don't. “I'm not willing to give up my home for a book or a walk in the park,” he said.

The research on who benefits is sobering. A 2024 study led by researchers from the federal government and Yale University found that property tax reductions in Georgia increased home prices, drawing buyers into bidding wars and encouraging existing owners to stay longer. That shrank the supply of homes. The price increases particularly hurt younger, first-time buyers and disproportionately benefited older, long-term homeowners. California's Proposition 13, passed 48 years ago, shows the long-term version of that divide: a Los Angeles resident who has owned a $1 million home for 50 years pays less than $500 a year, while a neighbor who bought a $1 million home last year owes $10,000.

The California Lesson

After Proposition 13, property tax receipts immediately fell 60%. The state government took responsibility for education funding and leaned on volatile income taxes. Those revenues depend on the stock market, so the budget can swing sharply between surplus and deficit. Isaac Martin, a sociologist at the University of California, San Diego, said Republican leaders risk repeating those problems. “By ruling out the best tool available for local government, you're going to get a worse system and you're going to be stuck with it,” he said.

Many academics consider property taxes a sound revenue source because land can't be moved or hidden, which makes the base stable. Yale Law School professor David Schleicher noted that the taxes connect public services to the property values those services help create. Critics counter that bills can rise even when a homeowner loses a job, unlike income or sales taxes, and that sharp assessment jumps drive resistance. Mayor Treva Hodges of Charlestown understands the anger; her own assessment rose about 45%, and she and her husband have challenged it.

Republicans Split, Voters Hesitate

The fight has divided the political right. In Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis proposed eliminating the tax for more than 90% of primary residences, but Republican lawmakers balked at eliminating billions in school funding. Incoming House Speaker Sam Garrison said, “there's no such thing as a free lunch.” Several Republican sheriffs criticized the measure; one called it a “train wreck.” In Texas, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick warned that Gov. Greg Abbott's proposal would force sales taxes to unsustainable levels.

Voters have been wary once they hear the trade-offs. North Dakota voters rejected a 2024 repeal initiative by nearly 2-to-1 after local governments, labor unions and business leaders argued the cuts lacked viable replacement revenue. Oban of the state's largest teachers' union said the message was “compelling to enough people to get it on the ballot, not necessarily to pass it.” Recent polls in Florida and Ohio show initial support for drastic cuts falling below the level needed for passage once voters learn about possible local deficits or replacement tax increases.

Why This Matters: Property taxes pay for everyday services people rely on, from patrol cars to snowplows to libraries. Those least able to absorb their loss are often the people who depend on them most. The evidence cited here suggests deep cuts can push up home prices, favoring long-time owners over young buyers, and leave state budgets exposed to stock-market swings. Real pressure on homeowners, especially seniors on fixed incomes, deserves a serious answer. But the facts point to targeted relief and honest accounting for replacement revenue, not eliminating a stable local funding base. As Schleicher put it, this era is about carving people out of paying taxes entirely, “except for the billionaires.” Charlestown's park now operates four days a week.