Split-Rate Land Value Tax in South Bend, IN
The Center for Land Economics partnered with Notre Dame’s Student Policy Network to study the impact of a split-rate tax in the City of South Bend.
South Bend is a city rebounding from a post-industrial slump, and our findings confirm that shifting the property tax burden from buildings to the value of land would bolster the economic recovery. The split-rate tax would shift taxes to vacant and underutilized land and encourages development. The tax shift is also progressive as low-income communities would experience tax decreases under the shift and high-income communities would see increases.
The Student Policy Network prepared a report and presentation which are available below.
As part of the study, the following maps were also created:
Trends in Out of State Ownership (2014-2024)
We map changes in parcel ownership from 2014 until 2024. Using property tax records and mailing address state, we track parcels that changed from in-state ownership to out-of-state ownership. We find that 5.3% of parcels changed from in-state to out-of-state, yet on the flip side, 5.8% changed from out-of-state to in-state.
Vacant Parcels
We show vacant parcels based on assessor identification where the improved value of the parcel is zero.
Split-Rate Tax Impact
We model the difference in tax rate for a referendum-based property tax–which avoids Indiana circuit breakers–and a split-rate land value tax with land taxed at a 4:1 ratio to improvements. Exemptions are still applied to properties.
SPN Presentation
SPN Report