Returns to Scale in Property Assessment: Evidence from NYS’s Small Localities Coordination Program

Returns to Scale in Property Assessment: Evidence from New York State’s Small Localities Coordination Program

Yusun Kim, Yilin Hou, John Yinger

National Tax Journal, February 2023

Yilin Hou

John M. Yinger

Economics Department

Public Administration & International Affairs Department

Center for Policy Research

Moynihan Institute of Global Affairs

Housing

New York State

Taxation

National Tax Journal

Yilin Hou

John M. Yinger

New York State (NYS) incentivizes cities and towns to merge their Tax Assessor’s Offices while maintaining separate taxing authority. This paper treats cooperative agreements among small tax-assessing jurisdictions in NYS as a natural experiment to explore economies of parcel scale in property assessment.

Using 2003–2014 data, we estimate these scale economies using cost-function models with control functions. Our results show consistent evidence of economies of parcel scale, holding quality constant. Local governments can save personnel, operational, and contractual costs by collaborating with nearby localities in conducting property assessments.