Property Tax Database
June 10, 2009 — When you've got George Washington and Abraham Lincoln behind you, you're off to a good start. And we're not talking about one- and five-dollar bills, since if we were, we'd ditch George and Abe and head for the Benjamins. (Or, actually, the late Chief Justice Salmon Chase, who appears on the $10,000 bill. And doesn't that just sound like a fishing competition? "Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the $10,000 Salmon Chase!")
Now that we've dragged you this far in through sheer digression, we'll tell you why: Because this week's new product is ... tax tables! We were afraid you wouldn't even start reading if we said that first. Here's the thing: We're talking about the first free, online, readily available property-tax database by a non-partisan university and a think tank (the aforementioned George and Abe; we'll get to that).We're not talking dry, boring, raw information — no, this thing lets you create customized tables based on your state, range of years and a host of categories you can pick yourself, from property-tax rates to real estate transfer charges. No more operating in the dark, lacking checks-and-balances for the information your well-meaning but occasionally mistaken professionals provide.
It's also really easy to use. To check your property-tax rates, for instance, click on the left-column link "General Characteristics of Local Taxation of Property." On the page you reach, click on "Property Tax Rates." On that page, choose, say, "New York" under "Select one or more states," hit the "Add" button, choose the years you want to know about, and then hit "Create Table." That's it! Easy as pie chart. You'll get a list of tables like "Real Property Tax Rates in School Districts by City or Town" which you can view as PDFs or Excel spreadsheets.
There's lots more, too, like a page for "Property Tax Relief and Incentive Programs" — always good to know. The database, which just came online June 8 and is formally titled Significant Features of the Property Tax, is a joint creation of The George Washington Institute of Public Policy and The Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, which administers it.
It's a great new resource for any tax-battered co-op board or condo-owner. Because as we said up top, it's all about the Benjamins. And the Salmons.
The Lincoln Institute of Land Policy • 113 Brattle Street, Cambridge, Mass. 02138-3400 • (617) 661-3016 • toll-free (800) LAND-USE (526-3873) • help@lincolninst.edu