Unequal Burdens: Property Tax Classification in Massachusetts

Despite the state's progress in reducing the overall burden of property taxes in the years since Proposition 2½ was adopted, Massachusetts businesses continue to pay a disproportionate share of the local property tax bill, according to this in-depth analysis. The report estimates that communities shifted over $600 million of property taxes from residential to business taxpayers in 1998 and that the disparity in tax burdens has roughly doubled in the preceding 15 years. Includes data on all 102 communities using property tax classification and provides comparisons to tax burdens in other states.