Many state and local government officials seem bedazzled by visions of tourists paying for entertainment and leisure attractions in such magnitude that significant economic development benefits will flow from these “smokestack-less” businesses. Public officials turn to a variety of public...

The property tax was originally intended to be a tax on the stock of wealth, in essence all property – real and personal, tangible and intangible. Estimating the property tax base without any exemptions or other legal deviations from market value is an exercise that permits the discussion to...