Assaf Harpaz, visiting assistant professor at Drexel University’s Kline School of Law, was interviewed by WalletHub.com for an article about property taxes in which he addresses the following questions:

• Do people consider property taxes when deciding where to move? Should they?
• Should nonprofits pay property taxes?
• Should local tax policy be adjusted to rely more or less on property taxes versus other forms of taxation?
• Should more types of property be subject to property taxes? If yes, what types?
• Should certain groups of people be exempt from property taxes or be taxed at a lower rate?

“Taxes affect how people behave – the ways [they] spend, save, work, invest, and more,” he says. “In recent years, taxpayers have been increasingly moving from high-tax to low-tax U.S. jurisdictions.”

As to whether certain groups should be exempt from property taxes or taxed at a lower rate, Harpaz says, “Property taxes are regressive because they are mostly levied irrespective of the income of the taxpayer…A property tax system that taxes individuals based on their overall ability to pay will be more equitable.”

Harpaz’s principal research focus is tax policy and international taxation. He is particularly interested in the intersection of taxation and digitalization.