ABSTRACT
The property tax has long been the primary local source of funding for schools and, along with state aid, provides the lion’s share of total resources for schools. In recent decades, though, the property tax has come under siege as a source of revenue for schools. The principal charge has been that, since property wealth is unequally distributed across school districts, reliance on this source of revenue results in unacceptable differences in property tax rates, property revenues per pupil and, most importantly, spending per pupil across districts. The property tax is also criticized for being inequitable, ineffi cient, and complex. Dissatisfaction with the tax appears to be growing as evidenced by the number of attempts to constrain spending and limit access to taxes, including the property tax (Downes & Figlio, this volume).1 Among the possible explanations for the declining support for property taxes are demographic shifts in the form of a rising elderly share and a declining school-age share of the population. Our goals are to examine the various charges against the property tax as a means of funding schools and to compare alternative sources of revenue such as sales and income taxes with the property tax.
