Is It Time to Rethink Property Taxes?

The property tax is the most important local source of revenue for cities, counties, schools, and many types of special districts. It’s also extremely unpopular. Given the high revenue the property tax generates and the low regard in which it is held, substantial benefits would result from improving the tax. But before we get to how we might improve the tax, we should address a natural question: if the property tax is so reviled, why not “rethink” having a property tax at all?