2025/06/01 by Fernanda Alfaro, Dusan Paredes, Mark Skidmore
Economics, Econometrics and Finance · Business, Management and Accounting · #Taxation and Compliance Studies #Corporate Taxation and Avoidance #Fiscal Policy and Economic Growth
paper · doi:10.1086/735110
This article evaluates the impacts of residential property tax bill reductions on tax delinquency and property tax foreclosure in Detroit, using the substantial decline in tax bills driven by a citywide reassessment. Using parcel-level data between 2012 and 2019, we find that property tax reductions resulting from the property reassessment generated meaningful tax compliance improvements. Detroit offers important lessons for other cities experiencing chronic population decline, excess supply of housing, and potentially inflated assessment valuations for property tax purposes.