This report covers three approaches to administer property tax circuit breaker programs to provide greater relief to those in need. Guidelines for elected representatives and tax policy advocates to improve tax circuit breaker rules are provided. Recommendations for the best design for property tax circuit breakers are also included.

This policy focus report examines options that exist for timely and efficient aid to needy taxpayers, including circuit breaker programs that reduce taxes based on income level; truth in taxation measures; deferral options on property tax payments; partial exemptions on owner-occupied or homestead properties; and classified tax rates.

Based on a conference held in Scottsdale, Ariz. in January 2000.

In A Good Tax, tax expert Joan Youngman skillfully considers how to improve the operation of the property tax and supply the information that is often missing in public debate. She analyzes the legal, administrative, and political challenges to the property tax in the United States and offers recommendations for its improvement. The book is accessibly written for policy analysts and public officials who are dealing with specific property tax issues and for those concerned with property tax issues in general.