An analysis of acquisition value property tax assessment for homesteaded property

This article explores the implications of acquisition value assessment for homesteaded property established in 1983 in Muscogee County, Georgia. The resulting freeze in assessed values has created sizeable assessment inequality that varies systematically with the value of the parcel. The difference between market value and acquisition value assessments is substantially larger for households with longer tenure and is associated with households with higher income, who are older, and who are white. The freeze has a small effect on the size of the property tax base and does not appear to reduce the probability of a home's being sold.