Property taxes around the U.S. have long been a lightning rod for debate, with political leaders perpetually balancing the need to fund their budget priorities against the risk of alienating homeowners and businesses. This week, for example, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani sparked an uproar by proposing to close a budget hole by sharply raising property taxes.
Mamdani is proposing a $127 billion budget, up $5 billion from last year. That's a city budget bigger than the state budgets of 47 states. Even the state government of Florida (population 23 million) spends less than New York City's. And the state still managed to attract hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers in recent years.
Bowser (D), who isn't seeking a fourth term, stressed that the DC Council, not her, is in charge of property tax rate policy. "I just heard the mayor of New York City propose raising property taxes on everybody in New York City," Bowser said at a Wednesday budget forum with senior residents. "Sometimes these ideas trickle down here." She had been asked by a resident who decides whether to jack up property taxes, and about a projected $1 billion budget hole.
The total proposed 2026 operating budget amounts to $18.9 billion, with 31 per cent being covered by property taxes and 24 per cent made up of federal and provincial funding. The rest is made up of smaller measures, including rate programs (12 per cent), transit fares (six per cent), and reserves (nine per cent). Chow submitted her budget proposal on Feb. 1, based on a city staff proposal put forward on Jan. 8.
Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow's final budget before the 2026 municipal election takes place keeps the modest 2.2 per cent property tax increase proposed in the city's initial draft of the document, while spending nearly $1.5 billion on both the Toronto Transit Commission and the city's police service. Chow's budget was uploaded to the city's website Sunday evening following feedback from the budget committee, who heard from city departments and residents throughout the month.
The UK's small business sector forms the backbone of the national economy. With 5.7 million SMEs operating across the country in 2025, including 5.4 million micro businesses, these enterprises represent 99.9% of all UK businesses. Yet according to tax experts, a significant number of these businesses are overpaying on property taxes and missing out on capital allowances that could provide much-needed funds for growth, hiring, and innovation.
Under the new law, S5175A/A3698A, localities now have the option to offer exemptions of up to 65% for seniors who fall below the maximum income eligibility thresholds set at the local level. State estimates suggest that increasing the exemption could save the average senior about $300 annually. Greg Olsen, acting director of the New York State Office for the Aging, noted that more than 1.8 million older adults in New York own their homes,
Gov. Newsom's veto of the virtual power plants bill slows progress for making electricity more affordable for Californians. We now have vastly improved technologies for generating electricity. We no longer need as much centralized power generation, yet it is still the planning model used by PG&E and the other investor-owned utilities (IOUs). Instead, the IOUs should be leading the effort to grow local electricity generation through solar panels, wind turbines and batteries. Microgrids should be the main method of distribution, and costly transmission lines should be minimized.
After the abrupt resignation of the county's 30-year former assessor, Larry Stone, a special contest to manage the county's $700 billion real estate roll is headed for a Dec. 30 runoff between Kumar, a former Saratoga councilmember, and Los Altos Vice Mayor Neysa Fligor - who also serves as an assistant assessor. Kumar faces an uphill battle against Fligor's commanding lead of 37% of the vote in the Nov. 4 special election. Still, it wasn't enough to win outright and avoid a runoff.
The Santa Clara County assessor position, which was held by the same public official for 30 years prior to his retirement in July, is a showdown between two accomplished minority women. That much became clear during the Oct. 7 candidate forum hosted by the League of Women Voters at Cupertino's Quinlan Community Center. All four candidates - Bryan Do, Rishi Kumar, Yan Zhao and Neysa Fligor - showed up. They answered a dozen pointed questions, seeking to distinguish themselves for the little known but high stakes role.
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Portland's parks and natural areas are integral to the city's identity, but the city's parks system faces major financial challenges, including a massive maintenance backlog and generally unsustainable funding mechanisms. In a special election this fall, voters will be asked to approve a new, five-year levy to stop the bleeding at Portland Parks & Recreation (PP&R). If the measure passes, it will enact a property tax of $1.40 per $1,000 of assessed property value, running the average Portland property owner about $310 annually.
Multiple Ohio Department of Taxation analyses and state summaries find that roughly two-thirds (60% to 68%) of property-tax dollars are directed to local K12 education. The rest is distributed among counties, municipalities, townships, libraries, park districts, fire/EMS, water/sewer districts and other local governments. Fleeter said the revenue raised by property taxes funds the bedrock of Ohio's local services. We also have countywide human services that are funded through property taxes, he said.
Attorney Aleshire argues that the ballot language is misleading and does not clarify that the tax increase, if approved, would be permanent. He emphasizes that the City Council is attempting to mislead voters into accepting a significant tax hike.
Residents of high-tax states suffered the most with the previous cap on state and local taxes (SALT), because their taxes far exceeded the cap, they were not able to deduct the full amount like residents in low-tax states.
