No City Should Rely Primarily on a Sales Tax for Funding

At a glance, the sales tax is a nearly invisible revenue source that is also a cash cow. Yet, for local governments, it is the most distorting of taxes. Here’s why.

Marohn, Transparent Accounting, Top StoryCharles MarohnMay 1, 2023sales tax, Transparent Local Accounting, tax revenue, local government, city government, municipal finance, finance, financial solvency, local finance

3 Predictions for 2023 as Communities Continue Climbing Out of the Pandemic

As America’s cities continue their halting climb up and out of the last few years, data analytics firm Urban3 foresees a few crises—as well as opportunities—waiting for them in 2023.

Urban3, Trending, Top StoryKerry HayesFebruary 16, 2023Urban3, tax revenue, economics, Economy, Transparent Local Accounting, gentrification, Gentrification, climate, Climate Change, natural disasters, suburban experiment, suburban development pattern, infrastructure bill

Buncombe County Has the Conversation No One Wants to Have: Property Taxes

All over the U.S., studies have shed light on how much residents in lower-valued homes are being overassessed on property taxes. Now, Buncombe County, NC, is offering residents a space to appeal their assessments.

Sheppard, Transparent Accounting, Urban3, Top Story, NewsSeairra SheppardFebruary 2, 2023finance, tax revenue, tax exemption, property tax, Transparent Local Accounting, Urban3, Just Accounting for Health

Can Your City Afford a Natural Disaster?

If a natural disaster hit your city, would your tax revenue pay for the damage, or would you be underwater—literally and figuratively?

#DotheMath, Finance, Urban3, Top Story, Transparent AccountingTaylor SchenkerOctober 4, 2022Urban3, Transparent Local Accounting, tax base, tax revenue, flooding, natural disasters, finance, local finance, #DoTheMath

Main Street vs. Big Box Stores: A Western North Carolina Analysis

Property taxes represent the largest source of revenue for most local governments, and data shows that even unglamorous downtown areas offer more value as taxable properties than big box stores.

“Bias Writ Large” in the Property Tax Assessment System

There are some obvious anomalies that are being overlooked in the property tax assessment system. Joe Minicozzi of Urban3 pulls back the curtain in this episode of the Strong Towns Podcast.

In Buncombe County, NC, Billions of Dollars of Home Value Go Untaxed

As an ad hoc committee recently discovered, owners of higher-valued properties are more likely to receive a tax break…simply because of bad data.

Why You Should Care About Property Taxes as a Renter

If you don’t own a home, and don’t have plans to own one anytime soon, you might think property taxes don’t concern you. But, what if we told you that they definitely do?

Finance, Sheppard, Top Story, Transparent AccountingSeairra SheppardJune 28, 2022Just Accounting for Health, tax revenue, tax base, Tax Base, property tax, homeowners, Homeownership, homeownership, rent, renters, finance, local finance, Transparent Local Accounting

We Don’t Like These Curves: What Is the J-Curve and What Is It Costing You?

These curves are costing Americans a lot, both financially and physically.

Finance, Sheppard, Top Story, Transparent AccountingSeairra SheppardJune 21, 2022Just Accounting for Health, homeowners, Homeownership, property tax, tax revenue, finance

To Address the Housing Crisis, We Need a Fairer Tax System

Two charts illustrate the massive housing shortage in Buncombe County, NC, and show why we need to get property taxes right.

Housing, Sheppard, Urban3, Top Story, Transparent AccountingSeairra SheppardMay 17, 2022housing, housing crisis, Housing Crisis, housing affordability, Housing, housing cost, tax revenue, Just Accounting for Health, Urban3

Should Airbnbs Be Taxed as Residential or Commercial?

How have we come to the conclusion that most short-term rentals are taxed as “residential,” when many have no residents?

Housing, Sheppard, Urban3, Top Story, Transparent AccountingSeairra SheppardMay 10, 2022Just Accounting for Health, Urban3, airbnb, property tax, tax revenue, homeowners, Homeownership, North Carolina, housing, housing market

It Isn’t Just Us, the Entire Nation Is Burdened With Property Tax Inequities

Recently, the North Carolina Ad Hoc Appraisals Committee was challenged to face their own biases and fix their broken property tax assessment system. Here’s what happened.

Property Tax Inequities Stir Movement for Change in Asheville

Strong Towns is partnering with Just Accounting for Health and Urban3 in a project to uncover the presence, and effects, of biases in tax assessment standards.

Finance, Sheppard, Top Story, Transparent AccountingSeairra SheppardFebruary 15, 2022tax revenue, property tax, race, Race, Urban3, North Carolina, Just Accounting for Health

The Galesburg Papers, Part 2: The Cure

In this follow-up to last week’s piece about Galesburg, IL, we’ll look at what the town needs in order to recover and thrive.

#DotheMath, #InfrastructureCrisis, Infrastructure, Member Post, Top StoryJoe HicksJanuary 28, 2022#DoTheMath, Small Towns, small towns, Illinois, property tax, tax revenue, infrastructure cost, municipal finance, Municipal Debt

The Galesburg Papers, Part 1: The Diagnosis

Citizens of Galesburg, IL, are trying to save their public indoor pool and create a new activity complex. City council is sympathetic, but there's just one problem: money.

#DotheMath, #InfrastructureCrisis, Infrastructure, Member Post, Top StoryJoe HicksJanuary 21, 2022#DoTheMath, Small Towns, small towns, Illinois, property tax, tax revenue, infrastructure cost, municipal finance, Municipal Debt

Cities Need More Flexibility in How They Tax

Cities are the economic engines of our society, yet as a recent report shows, their fiscal stability can be seriously affected by local tax limitations.

Finance, Herriges, Local Government, Top StoryDaniel HerrigesJuly 29, 2021tax revenue, municipal finance, state government, local finance, property tax

Why COVID-19 is Devastating for Sales Tax-Dependent Cities

Many factors affect how much your local economy is being impacted by COVID-19. One is whether your city is cripplingly dependent on just one or two revenue sources. And especially if you’re dependent on sales taxes.

Coronavirus, Top Story, Economic Development, FinanceDaniel HerrigesJuly 7, 2020tax revenue, sales tax, Coronavirus

It's All Downhill from Here

The slide into municipal insolvency isn’t as fun as they made it sound. It’s time for cities to #DoTheMath.

Top Story, Growth Ponzi Scheme, Finance, #DotheMathMichel Durand-WoodJanuary 28, 2020land tax, tax revenue, Winnipeg, Canada, Growth Ponzi Scheme, budget, #DoTheMath

The real reason why Bill Gates' and Jeff Bezos' posh suburb is going broke

Medina, Washington is struggling to pay its bills. How can this be? And what does it mean for towns and cities that don’t have the two richest people in the world living there?

Upzoned, WIlson, Reuter, Podcast, Cost of Development, Top StoryKea WilsonNovember 1, 2019Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, Seattle, Medina, suburbs, tax revenue, Infrastructure

Trader Joe's: Worth the Hype?

How does a store with a small footprint, few choices and well-paid employees attract so many enthusiastic customers and sell twice as much per square foot as Whole Foods?

Big Box Stores, #DotheMath, QuednauRachel QuednauJuly 20, 2016parking, tax revenue, local food, Value Per Acre, big box stores

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