Property tax revolt on both coasts

WASHINGTON, April 12 (UPI) -- Residents of Washington state and Maine are preparing for votes later this year on sharp property tax cuts, USA Today reported Monday.

The two states are only the most visible in a growing taxpayer rebellion against steep assessments. More than half the 50 states are considering new property tax limits or cuts, says David Brunori, an expert on state and local taxes.

"Something has to be done or there's going to be a revolution," says Deloria Bucknell, 86, who pays $1,200 a year on her trailer home in Topsham, Maine.

The Maine and Washington votes are citizen-initiated measures that will slash property taxes 20 percent to 50 percent. Elsewhere, state legislatures are considering cutting rates, adding to exemptions and limiting how much assessments can rise.

States are usually more likely to tinker with the property tax, rather than overhaul it, says Brunori. But the current unrest may signal the start of the most extensive attack on property taxes since 1978, when California voters approved Proposition 13, capping property taxes.

Property-tax collections have risen an average of 5.7 percent annually over the past five years to a record $297 billion nationally in 2003, according to the Census Bureau.