NATIONAL

VCU researcher: Property tax delinquency a strong predictor of neighborhood violence
WVTF
Professor Samuel West has spent his career studying violence and its causes. He says some of the first causes that come to mind are those from within a neighborhood— internal factors. "The kind of folk wisdom and some of the evidence that exists points to these internal facets— that people who live in communities where violence is, the violence is caused by the people that live there," West said.

American cities are considering converting empty office space into residential units
Washington Times
Multiple American cities are considering proposals to convert now-empty office spaces, a byproduct of employees working from home during the coronavirus pandemic, to much-needed housing stock, including Chicago, New York, Boston and Los Angeles. On Monday, Chicago announced a program that would offer tax increment financing to developers to convert empty commercial real estate in the LaSalle Street corridor into housing.

Housing prices plunge in 77% of U.S. metro areas: 'The turn has finally happened'
Fortune
On August 22, mortgage rates hit 6.62%, the highest number in two decades, and twice the level at the close of 2021. According to the American Enterprise Institute's Housing Center, prices nationwide, measured month over month, fell for the first time in August since the depths of the COVID crisis, retreating 1.6% from July. “The turn has finally happened, based on actual closings,” says Ed Pinto, the Institute's director.

Post-pandemic cities
AXIOS
Cities and states across the country are looking to transform vacant office buildings into housing — a solution for both empty downtowns and housing shortages, Axios' Kate Marino writes. Why it matters: Commercial districts with little to no residential presence turned into near ghost towns during the pandemic, becoming a blight on the cityscape and a detriment to local businesses like shops and restaurants.

ARKANSAS

Why we pay personal property taxes in Arkansas
thv11.com
An Arkansas law that feels as old as the postal service itself-- paying your personal property tax. It's a law that dates back to the 19th century and it's one that Bentley Hovis, Pulaski County Chief Deputy Treasurer, is pretty familiar with. “The simple answer is we are required by the state's constitution," Hovis said. "That document goes back to 1874, so in Arkansas we do our taxes a little different than other states."

IDAHO

Commissioners criticize assessor's request
Coeur d'Alene Press
Despite reservations about the hefty cost, Kootenai County commissioners reaffirmed their decision Tuesday to allow Assessor Bela Kovacs to hire a private company to conduct property appraisals and assist with training personnel. Commissioners voted 2-1 on the request last week, with Bill Brooks opposing.

MINNESOTA

St. Paul homeowners face hefty property tax hikes
Star Tribune
St. Paul city, county and schools officials heard a worst-case scenario for 2023 property taxes on Wednesday that would bring widespread increases plus harsher blows to homeowners in large parts of the city. The owner of the city's $266,300 median-valued home could see the tax bill rise by $506, or 14.8%, under levy proposals and other factors in play.

NEBRASKA

Angry Buffalo County taxpayers with pink postcards jam hearing
Kearney
Many in the crowd carried pink postcards sent last week by Buffalo County officials to alert property owners about likely tax increases next year. Sending the postcards and conducting the hearing Monday were part of an effort by state lawmakers to educate and forewarn Nebraskans about their property taxes.

Neb. Board Upholds Value Of Rent-Restricted Multifamily Units
Law360
A Nebraska property owner was unable to challenge the assessment of three multifamily units by claiming the units are rent-restricted because the property did not receive federal low-income housing tax credits,...

Property taxpayers: 'Timing could not be worse' for increases
The North Platte Bulletin
Red postcards called the taxpayers' attention to an evening public hearing about property tax increases, and the taxpayers came. About 125 people filled the room at North Platte's McKinley Education Center Tuesday and told administrators not to raise their taxes. Twenty-five or so stood because the seats were taken.

NEW JERSEY

New Jersey Asks Judge to Delay Atlantic City Casino Tax Ruling
Casino
New Jersey lawmakers and Governor Phil Murphy (D) last year amended how the state calculates its property tax assessment levied on the nine resorts through their payment-in-lieu-of-tax (PILOT) program. The 2021 PILOT amendment stripped iGaming and online sports betting revenue from the calculation beginning this year.

TEXAS

Study shows Coastal bend has missed out on over $2 billion in tax revenue
KRISTV
How well off are some of the industrial companies when it comes to taxes? A study was released Tuesday, funded by the Coastal Alliance to Protect our Environment (CAPE). It examines the tax incentives given to industrial companies in Nueces and San Patricio county. Tax incentives are given by cities, counties, and school districts.

Absent Brazos County commissioners hold up vote on property tax rate
The Eagle
Brazos County commissioners continued to delay voting on a tax rate Tuesday, as two members again failed to show up to vote. Commissioners Steve Aldrich and Russ Ford opted out of Tuesday's regular meeting that called for a vote on a property tax rate up to $0.4735 per $100 valuation. Both commissioners stated during a Monday workshop that they were in favor of a rate much less than the one proposed.

VIRGINIA

Arlington ranks No. 2 nationally for share of remote workers
ARLnow.com
The county falls just behind Fremont, a city in California's Silicon Valley that is home to numerous tech companies, while D.C. ranks third. And within the metro D.C. area, the remote work population in northern Arlington specifically is second in size only to the central and downtown parts of the District.

WASHINGTON

Assessor: values are rising but taxes aren't proportional
goldendalesentinel.com
The Klickitat County Assessor wants you to know that while property values in the county have soared—some by close to 70 percent or more—your taxes will not necessarily proportionally raise. In an interview last week, Assessor Crista Shroder said home properties have indeed skyrocketed in recent years, and yes, the increases in some areas have been downright astonishing.

WEST VIRGINIA

As governor blitzes property tax amendment, senators want to come along and counter him
WV MetroNews
Senate leaders Craig Blair and Eric Tarr want to spend more time with Gov. Jim Justice in give-and-take over the virtues of property tax cuts. The governor has hit the road to campaign against Amendment 2, which would change the state Constitution to give the Legislature the ability to alter property tax rates. 

WISCONSIN

Despite record spike in property values, tax levies lag inflation
captimes.com
Using tax levies and rates approved for December 2021 tax bills in every Wisconsin county, city, village and town, along with the updated property values that will be used to calculate those bills, Wisconsin Policy Forum researchers found that gross property tax levies imposed by local governments statewide rose by only 1.6%, an increase far below the current 8.3% inflation rate and lower than the growth seen every year since 2014.

Lowe's Fights to Revive ‘Dark Store' Tax Strategy in Wisconsin
Bloomberg Tax
Lowe's Companies Inc. on Wednesday fought for the possibility of steep property tax reductions for Wisconsin businesses before the state's high court. The state Supreme Court's decision could determine whether “dark stores” factor into property valuations. The oral argument boiled down to whether and when state courts should allow the sales of vacant business properties...