IPTI | Property Tax in the News – September 2025

IPTI’s usual monthly newsletter – the “President’s Message” – contains, inter alia, some summarised news articles from around the world. This IPTI publication – “Property Tax in the News” – contains some of the more interesting news articles concerning property taxes in North America and Europe which is where many of our members have a particular interest. Links to these and more, similarly summarised, articles – from North America, Europe and around the globe – can be found in “IPTI Xtracts” on our website: www.ipti.org. Please note that these are news articles; they do not necessarily reflect IPTI’s views.

USA

Massachusetts: Hundreds Of Landlords Appeal Assessments Of Boston Offices, But Few Succeed

As Boston’s office building owners feel increasingly squeezed after years of high vacancy, they are pushing harder to lower their property taxes. Landlords have appealed their assessments for 388 commercial properties in downtown Boston this year, Bloomberg reported, citing city data obtained with a public records request. That figure is 83% higher than the 212 appeals filed last year and more than double the 180 in 2023. But as of last month, only 11 of those 388 appeals had been granted, Bloomberg reported. It cited one example in which the city agreed to take nearly $2M off the $14.2M assessment of a building in Court Square owned by KS Partners that is two-thirds vacant.

“The values have been decimated,” KS Partners founder Kambiz Shahbazi told Bloomberg.

He said the 12% decline in assessed value he has received across his portfolio over the last two years isn’t anywhere near the actual drop in value it has experienced in the market. Nationwide, office values are down 37% from their 2022 peak, according to Green Street. Boston’s office market had an 18.8% vacancy rate as of last quarter, according to CBRE. It has risen from 14% in mid-2023 and has more than doubled since the onset of the pandemic, when it stood below 8%. The soaring vacancy has led many buildings to fall into foreclosure or sell for a fraction of their prior price. And the plummeting market valuations have raised fiscal concerns in a city where property taxes make up more than 70% of local revenues.

Assessed values in the city could ultimately drop by as much as 45% from their 2024 values, leading to a $1.7B decline in property taxes paid to the city over five years, according to a June report from the Boston Policy Institute and Tufts University. The report’s authors increased the projected revenue drop from the $1.5B they had forecast in a similar report last year. Mayor Michelle Wu has sought to mitigate the impact of declining office valuations on city residents by hiking the tax rate on commercial properties, but she has yet to receive approval on the plan. Her property tax bill last year was killed by state senators in December after business groups came out in opposition. She refiled the bill in January, but it still hasn’t passed.

Pennsylvania: Monroe County conducting property reassessment using satellite technology

For a new round of property reassessment in Monroe County, a higher-tech option will help streamline the field assessment process. According to Monroe County Commissioner Chairman John Christy, this year’s county reassessment will look different than the last reassessment in 2019. Christy said the county will use satellite technology to compare results of recent flyovers to those that were done last reassessment. If properties are different, the county will send out people to see what was constructed.

“In our last reassessment, we had to go out and visit all of our properties,” said Christy. “We do not have to do that in this one.” Christy said the county is looking to achieve being revenue neutral through reassessment. “Some people go up, some people go down, some stay the same,” said Christy. “It just levels the playing field.”

In a post about reassessment on Monroe County’s website, the county said that officials agreed after the 2019 reassessment that it “would help maintain fairness and accuracy” to conduct future reassessments every five to seven years. The post also said that Monroe County’s Common Level Ratio (CLR) fell to 45.47% “When a county’s CLR drops below 50%, it means that, on average, properties are being taxed on values that are less than half of their current market worth,” the post reads. It additionally states that this typically signals outdated county assessments and unfairly distributed tax burdens, meaning that some owners pay “far more than their fair share,” while others might underpay.

The post says that the CLR, which is published annually by the commonwealth’s State Tax Equalization Board, “compares the county’s assessed values to actual market sale prices.” A press release from the county states that if property owners are visited by a field assessor, they “will be easily identifiable by their Monroe County-issued polo shirts and official photo ID badges.” They will identify themselves by knocking on doors and explaining what their visit is for. They will conduct assessment fieldwork between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. on weekdays, and they may ask brief questions regarding the property, such as when the home was built, whether attics and basements are finished and how many bedrooms and bathrooms it has.

They can only take photos of and measure the exterior of the property. Residents should report anyone claiming to be a field assessor who tries to enter their residence immediately to law enforcement, as well as to the Monroe County Assessment Office at 570-517-3133. Christy told the Pocono Record that last time, it cost $7 million to upgrade technology used for the reassessment. This time, reassessment will cost the county $2 million. The release states that around Nov. 1, 2025, postcards with QR codes will be sent to property owners so they can review and update their property’s data. Monroe County has scheduled the reassessment to be effective in 2028.

Nebraska: Petition effort seeks to halve Nebraska property taxes, cap valuations

Newest push for 2026 ballot aims to address ‘property tax nightmare’ with emphasis on valuations

Advocates launched a pair of ballot measures Monday for the 2026 election, one that aims to halve property taxes and the other to cap annual property valuation increases. The petitions are the first of a handful being sought for 2026 by the new nonprofit “Advocates For All Nebraskans.” Leading the effort is former Nebraska Republican Party Chair Eric Underwood of Malcolm, State Board of Education member Kirk Penner of Aurora, former Nebraska State Patrol Superintendent Tom Nesbitt of Lincoln and former Lincoln talk radio host Doug Fitzgerald. The first petition would amend state law and halve the percentage of a property’s valuation subject to property taxes after 2026 — for homes, from 100% to 50%, and for agricultural or horticultural land, from 75% to 37.5%. A total of $5.3 billion in property taxes was assessed statewide in each of the past two years. A 50% reduction would mean a property tax savings of more than $2.6 billion.

“This immediate property tax relief and others that are out there are literally one signature and then one vote in 2026 away from becoming reality for the people,” Underwood said at a Monday news conference launching the effort. The second petition would amend the Nebraska Constitution to cap property valuation increases at the growth rate of Nebraska’s general fund tax receipts (as calculated at the end of each calendar year) or 3%, whichever is less. The valuation cap would not apply when a property is built, sold or purchased.

Influence of valuations

Reducing property valuations does not mean property taxes will go down at the same rate, or at all. There are more than 2,300 taxing subdivisions in the state, including 245 school districts, 93 counties, 528 municipalities, 408 fire districts and 327 townships. About 60% of property taxes pay for local schools, 17.2% for counties and 11.5% for municipalities. The proposed ballot measures would offer no replacement revenue to cover immediate reductions in taxable property valuations.

Qualifying for the ballot

Voter-led changes to state law require verified signatures from at least 7% of registered voters (about 90,000). Voter-led changes to the Nebraska Constitution require signatures from at least 10% of voters (about 126,000).

Initiatives also need qualified signatures from at least 5% of registered voters in at least 38 of the state’s 93 counties. Voter totals are calculated when petitions are due to the Nebraska Secretary of State’s Office. Petitions seeking verification on the November 2026 ballot must be submitted in early July 2026. Some local officials speaking with the Nebraska Examiner after Monday’s announcement said they were still reviewing the ballot language but noted a taxing entity at or below half of its tax-asking authority could theoretically make up the difference over time.

That would mean a school district at or below a 52.5-cent levy and counties or municipalities at or below 22.5-cent levies. The Legislature has capped how fast these three governments can increase property tax rates year over year. School and local government officials have in the past worried that tight spending caps could hinder growth or hurt employee recruitment or retention, and some have noted local leaders are buying products facing inflationary pressures as taxpayers are.

Property tax rates can vary widely in the allowable range, such as for school districts. In the most recent year, Hyannis Public Schools and Humphrey Public Schools had mainline school levies of roughly 35 cents, while others were at or just below a $1.05 cap — public schools in Sidney, Plattsmouth, Medicine Valley, Gering or Walthill. Entities within the upper half of their tax-asking authority would absorb the reduced valuations and resulting decline in tax revenue, unless they have access to additional state funding or other sources of revenue.

In short, some Nebraskans would not receive a straight 50% reduction in property taxes. It’s not yet clear how lower valuations might pair with changes to the state’s main funding formula for schools. A new state commission is looking at long-term fixes to that funding, with first recommendations to the Legislature due Dec. 1. Leadership for the Nebraska State Education Association, Nebraska Association of County Officials and League of Nebraska Municipalities had no immediate comment Monday. Underwood argued property tax savings from the ballot measure would be spent in local communities, which he said would energize and boost state and local sales or income tax revenue.

‘Rebalancing the funding structure’

Penner, who sat on the Aurora school board for 16 years before joining the State Board of Education in 2021, said he understands that property taxes play a balanced role in supporting schools. He said the ballot measures are “not about crippling local services. It’s about rebalancing the funding structure.” Over the next 18 months, Penner challenged local governments and taxing entities to prepare and engage with constituents to find new efficiencies and sustainable funding models. He said it could be a “new era” for transparency and direct public engagement.

“This is where elected representation should always be: a purposeful engagement of government to their constituents in a time and manner that truly listens to the voice and embraces the will of the people,” Penner said. Underwood told the Examiner he understands the effort might seem a “forceful way” forward, but he asked at what point conversations would occur without the people as the “primary driver.” He said he also believes the effort could increase voter turnout in the 2026 midterm elections.

The group intends a “staged” release of petitions for 2026, Penner said, with the first two. He pledged another petition would “ensure our schools are properly funded while still moving them away from heavy reliance on property taxes.” He said the school funding mechanism is “broke” and has been for a while. Underwood said subsequent petitions would prioritize local control and lead to a “historical rebalancing of schools” with a focus on caring for teachers and ensuring student education. The group did not further detail or offer a timeline for when future petitions would be released.

Countering or pairing with EPIC Option

The Nebraska Constitution requires ballot measures to contain no more than a “single subject,” barring detailed but interconnected changes from appearing as a single item and requiring signatures to be gathered across multiple petitions, with each voted on separately. However, juggling multiple petitions has proven challenging, as indicated in past years for medical cannabis advocates or the similarly tax-centered “EPIC Option.”

The “EPIC Option,” an acronym for the effort to eliminate property, income, inheritance and corporate taxes, is trying again for November 2026 with a “2.0” version that would take effect in 2028. Instead of two petitions to detail an alternative consumption tax, supporters landed this cycle on a single sentence. If the EPIC Option is successful, the Legislature would be left to devise alternative revenue. Underwood told reporters Monday that his group’s effort no way counters EPIC and can be complementary or parallel.

“We don’t think there’s going to be confusion,” Underwood said. However, former State Sen. Steve Erdman of Bayard, an EPIC creator and spokesperson, said while the Underwood-led effort might make Nebraska’s tax system better, it won’t fix the issue. “There’s only one way to fix it, and that’s start over,” Erdman told the Examiner.

Erdman said he is worried about confusion because the more explaining his team had to do with EPIC, it hurt signature gathering in the past year, compared to now. He also expressed concern about whether the Legislature would carry out the intended 50% property tax reduction or whether capping valuations up to 3% would instead lock in unfair valuations. State Sens. Kathleen Kauth of Omaha and Bob Andersen of north-central Sarpy County are continuing to look at legislative ways to tackle property valuations, including a cap as Underwood’s team proposed. The Andersen-Kauth effort did not advance past the Revenue Committee this spring, but the pair has not given up ahead of the 2026 legislative session, with hopes to reach the 2026 ballot, too.

‘Historic, lawful power’

Underwood, who led the Nebraska Republican Party between 2022 and 2025, and his fellow ballot sponsors said the Legislature has not listened to the public on property taxes, an argument Erdman has also championed. The 49-member, officially nonpartisan Legislature, where members do not formally caucus by party, has a Republican supermajority. Underwood and his supporters are Republicans.

Fitzgerald said he’s heard loud and clear from Nebraskans fed up with the state’s “property tax nightmare.” Nesbitt said he appreciates the one-house Legislature, the only statehouse of its kind in the country. But he said that “over the years, I’ve watched an erosion of something fundamental: the will of the people taking a back seat to the machinery of government.”

“Our petitions aren’t radical by any means, or even partisan,” Nesbitt said. “They’re to return to a historic, lawful power of Nebraskans to legislate of, by and for the people.”

EUROPE

UK: What the 2026 business rates revaluation means for commercial property in England and Wales

On 1 April 2026, a new business rates revaluation will take effect in England and Wales, reshaping tax liabilities for occupiers and landlords until March 2029. Ratepayers need to understand how the process works and how it reflects shifting market conditions and government priorities. Revaluation is designed to redistribute the £25bn-plus business rates burden more fairly, based on updated rental values for more than 2.1 million hereditaments.

The 2026 exercise, the second under the new three-year cycle, will be based on open market rental values as at 1 April 2024 (the ‘antecedent valuation date’, or AVD). This means rateable values will reflect conditions two years before the new list takes effect. Ryan forecasts overall rateable value to rise by 11%, increasing by £8.1bn to £79.06bn. Revaluations are revenue-neutral nationally: while the overall tax take remains steady, individual bills rise or fall depending on how properties and sectors performed relative to the wider market as at April 2024, not as at April 2026. The business rate multipliers (the tax rates in pence per pound) will be reset from April 2026 to preserve revenue neutrality but will include an uplift for inflation based on September’s CPI figure forecast at 4% and an allowance for anticipated losses on appeal.

A new supplementary multiplier of up to 10p will apply from April 2026 to properties in England with a rateable value above £500,000. Under the legislation, this allows ministers to reduce the standard and small business multipliers by up to 20p for retail, hospitality and leisure properties below that threshold. Crucially, this replaces the old system of centrally funded reliefs, transferring the cost from the Exchequer directly on to the largest ratepayers. In Wales, ministers are consulting on a lower multiplier for retail properties under £51,000, specifically excluding hospitality and leisure.

Final multipliers for both nations are likely to be confirmed in the 2025 Autumn Budgets. To cushion ratepayers facing sharp increases, transitional relief will phase in higher liabilities. From 2023, the UK government removed downward caps in England. Ryan had long pressed for this reform, particularly for high street retail. Details of the 2026 schemes are likely to be announced alongside the 2025 Autumn Budget, but transitional relief should be viewed as short-term cashflow support. Businesses still need to model their long-term liabilities.

Key milestones

• 1 April 2024 – Antecedent Valuation Date
• 22 October 2025 – CPI figure published
• Autumn 2025 – Multipliers and transitional relief confirmed; draft rating list published
• February/March 2026 – Councils issue new tax demands
• 1 April 2026 – 2026 Rating List takes effect

Regional outlook

Forecasts by Ryan, reflecting local market shifts since April 2021, suggest an even regional picture:

Region	Forecast change (%)
North East	+14.6
North West	+14.5
West Midlands	+13.6
East Midlands	+10.7
South East	+10.6
Wales	+10.5
London	+9.6
East	+9.6
South West	+9.2
Yorkshire and the Humber	+8.7
Sector trends

Retail: Overall up just 2.1%. Many secondary and tertiary locations may fall further, while prime centres show signs of stabilising.

Offices: A two-speed market. Prime ESG-compliant space in city centres remains resilient, particularly in London. Older stock in fringe locations is more vulnerable to falling demand from hybrid working. Overall, values are forecast up 9.7%.

Industrial: The strongest performer, up 21.4% overall. Logistics and multi-let estates benefit from robust demand, particularly around transport corridors and last-mile hubs.

Other: (leisure, health, education): Mixed. Hotels and leisure assets show recovery in strong locations, while healthcare and education remain relatively stable. Overall, up 10.8%.

What businesses should do now

For businesses, foresight is the best defence. Those who engage early, audit their records and model outcomes will be best placed to manage volatility and avoid being caught off-guard when bills land next spring.

 

Compliments of the International Property Tax Institute (IPTI) – a member of the EACCNY