2009 Snapshot: Property Tax Liabilities Growing Disproportionately
The changing composition of state and local tax warrants more attention. As the
economy constricted in 2009, state and local tax receipts declined from 9.25% of
Gross Domestic Product in 2008 to 8.8% in 2009. According to the U.S. Government
Accountability Offices (GAO) report to Congress on State and Local Governments’
Fiscal Outlook (GAO-10-358, FY 2009), while most sources of state and local tax
receipts decreased, property tax receipts increased. In 2009, corporate state income
tax accounted for approximately 10% of all state and local tax receipts while property
tax accounted for more than a third of all state and local receipts totaling
approximately 34%.