axes are levied primarily by states in the form of sales taxes, property taxes remain as the primary instrument of revenue generation for local governments in the United States, accounting for more than two thirds of local government revenues (and 15 percent of state government revenues).
Most property taxes in the United States are based on assessed values of the property. The assessed values bear some linear relationship to the market values of property. This approach is often criticized, because it does not tax relative wealth (properties of similar market value and use within a specific jurisdiction are typically taxed alike, regardless of the owners' equity position differences), and because the approach does not reflect the ability to pay of property owners (non revenue producing property, such as residential property, is often thought to be taxed disproportionately high with respect to the taxation levied on revenue producing property).
The revenues generated by property taxes either finance or contr
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