INTERNATIONAL

China Unveils Real Estate Data System, Opens Door to Property Tax
Sixth Tone
In a bid to bring more transparency to property ownership, China has completed its decade long effort to build a unified, countrywide immovable property registration system. This paves the way for the widely debated issue of property tax, though it is unlikely to be introduced any time soon.

NATIONAL

US Supreme Court mulls legality of a state's property tax 'windfall'
Reuters
U.S. Supreme Court justices on Wednesday appeared sympathetic toward a 94-year-old woman in her battle with a Minnesota county government that sold her condominium to cover her unpaid taxes and kept the proceeds beyond the sum she owed in a case testing constitutional checks on excessive fines and property seizure.

Supreme Court Case Shows Need to Quash Arcane Property Tax Laws
Bloomberg
This remedy, known as a surplus retention law, often harms homeowners the most who are least able to avoid the consequences. The US Supreme Court is set to hear arguments this week in Tyler v. Hennepin County, a case demonstrating that such laws are a taking of a basic property interest that violates the US Constitution's Fifth Amendment guaranty of just compensation, as well as state constitutional requirements.

COLORADO

Colorado homeowners prepare for 30%-60% increase in property tax bills
CBS Colorado
Homeowners across Colorado are bracing themselves for a hefty increase in their property tax bills. This is the year county assessors re-value homes and properties. On Wednesday, those assessors warned homeowners that the values are increasing from 30% to more than 60% in some counties.

NEW YORK

Why only some of NYC's vacant offices are becoming condos
New York Post 
Office vacancies across the city are still sky-high, so it seems like the perfect time to convert an under-utilized office tower into much needed affordable housing. But office building owners say the numbers just don't work — not without big, fat government subsidies and regulation changes.

NORTH CAROLINA

Commissioner's tax troubles go deeper than previously reported
Smoky Mountains News
New details from the Haywood County Tax Collector's office show that Haywood Republican Commissioner Terry Ramey, who until recently hadn't paid his property taxes since 2012, also failed to pay property taxes for at least five years before that, resulting in nearly $1,600 in taxes being deemed uncollectible.

RHODE ISLAND

Mayor Smiley takes action against 'irresponsibly low' property taxes
ABC6
Providence Mayor Brett Smiley delivered his first budget proposal since taking office, including tax increases for homeowners. The mayor defended the increases because he said the city currently has an “irresponsibly low” tax rate. The budget also focused on public safety, schools and quality-of-life concerns. 

TEXAS

‘Inexcusable': Keller mayor calls on TAD to extend protest deadline amid website failures
Yahoo News
Keller Mayor Armin Mizani is calling on the Tarrant Appraisal District to address technological failures that have left Tarrant County homeowners with fewer options for protesting their sky-high property values. Mizani penned a letter to Chief Appraiser Jeff Law and beseeched him to “explore all available options to remedy this issue,” including extending the May 15 protest deadline.