Local Tax Policy: A Federalist Perspective

Local governments are struggling to raise revenue for public services, but their fiscal autonomy has been declining for decades. And by ceding financial control to the states, localities have ceded political control over their affairs. In tandem, local governments are losing control over property tax, their most stable and reliable source of revenue. In Local Tax Policy, David Brunori explores the roots of the current fiscal crisis, evaluates various relief proposals, and champions the property tax, offering a blueprint for strengthening this oft-maligned instrument. The second edition has been updated to reflect new tax policy developments since the publication of the first edition in 2003.

David Brunori is a journalist, author, educator, and lawyer who specializes in tax and government issues. He is a frequent speaker at conferences around the United States on the subject of state and local tax policy. Brunori is contributing editor for State Tax Notes magazine and the author of The Politics of State Taxation, a weekly column focusing on state taxation and budget policies. He is a research professor of public policy at The George Washington University and teaches state and local tax at the law school. Previously he served as a trial attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice and practiced law with a Washington, D.C., law firm. He wrote State Tax Policy: A Political Perspective and edited The Future of State Taxation (both published by the Urban Institute Press), and has published articles in the National Tax Journal and the State and Local Government Review. He earned bachelor's and master's degrees from The George Washington University and his law degree from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law. He is currently a David C. Lincoln Fellow at the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy.