The Number of the Beast

In 1991, the Tax Foundation reports, state and local governments collected $666 in property taxes for every man, woman, and child in America. That was 122-percent more, in 1991 dollars, than the per-capita figure for 1980: $300, the post-Tax Revolt low point. The District of Columbia saw the biggest increase—a huge 329 percent jump, from $344 in 1980 to $1,475 in 1991. The smallest increase was in Alaska, where per-capita property taxes rose 35 percent, from $900 to $1,213.