TABLE X.4 WOULD A TAX CREDIT INDUCE REHABILITATION BY NEIGHBORHOOD AND CHARACTER OF OWNER Sample: Source: All residential properties. Providence Questionnaire did not include this question. ADL Investor Interview question 24d; ADL Homeowner Interview question 20c. questions, a majority of property owners in blighted areas indicated that neither form of tax inducement would affect their plans for rehabilitation. We should note, however, that large investors responded more favorably to tax abatements than did small investors. As we have pointed out previously, families often express the fear that they will be reassessed for improvements which, according to the Assessor, are not assessed at all. Much of the incentive effect of an abatement policy could be obtained by publishing a list of improvements which never are assessed, thus permitting an investor to determine beforehand whether the improvement he plans will be cause for reassessment. TAX PENALTY FOR CODE VIOLATION Both assessors and investors overwhelmingly opposed higher taxes on properties in violation of local housing and building codes. The reason for most of this opposition was based on the fact that some properties, particularly in blighted areas, did not generate enough rental income to support the provision of standard units. As pointed out in Chapter 4, strict enforcement of local codes would accelerate property abandonment. In addition, where insufficient rent receipts are not the underlying cause of substandard housing, municipalities already have the necessary legal powers to correct such violations. OVERHAULING THE PROPERTY TAX SYSTEM While homeowners, investors and assessors were explicitly asked to comment on the foregoing alternatives, other tax reforms were often mentioned voluntarily. As Table X.5 makes clear, these responses fall into three main categories. Foremost among investor concerns was the need to substitute some other major source of revenue for the property tax. Fear of increasing rates of taxation disturbed most respondents more than the method of assessment. While it is beyond the scope of this study to suggest alternative sources of municipal revenue, federal assumption of the costs of welfare and education seems the most promising long-run solution to the increasing burden of property taxation. The second most frequently volunteered response concerned the administration of the property tax. Investors in several cities complained that the appeals procedure, especially at the first level, was unprofessional, since investors typically had to present their appeal to the Board of Assessors, composed of the same men who had determined the assessed valuation in the first place. There was also a considerable number of complaints by investors contemplating improvements about the inability to get straight answers regarding reassessment policy. A significant number of investors complained that assessments strayed too far from market value. Respondents urged that the assessors pay more attention to market value, and less to their formulas for replacement costs and depreciation. Finally, several investors complained that they were being forced to pay higher taxes to pay for the provision of services to tax exempt properties and properties with special tax concessions. Notes: Source: Question 28 read "What specific changes, if any, in the Property Tax and its administration |