On Property Tax Coordination

This paper examines the welfare effects of inter-jurisdictional coordination of property taxes. Coordination in terms of compression, harmonization and radial changes of tax structure is considered. It is found that property tax coordination via uniform radial adjustments of taxes is in general welfare-superior to the other two types of tax changes. However, when there is a large disparity of initial tax rates between jurisdictions, harmonization of property taxes may lead to a larger welfare improvement.