Tennessee votes to ban state property taxes but homeowners bills arent disappearing

Tennessee homeowners have voted to ban a tax they haven’t paid in more than 75 years — but don’t expect their property tax bills to get any smaller.Voters in the Volunteer State overwhelmingly approved a constitutional amendment Tuesday prohibiting the state government from imposing property taxes, with nearly 67% backing the measure in the Nov.3 midterm election.The catch? Tennessee hasn’t levied a statewide property tax since 1949, and the new ban won’t stop cities and counties from collecting the local property taxes that homeowners already pay.The measure, known as Amendment 2, effectively locks in Tennessee’s longstanding policy by stripping state lawmakers of the authority to introduce a statewide property tax in the future.According to Ballotpedia, more than 1.3 million voters supported the amendment, compared with roughly 663,000 who opposed it, based on unofficial election results.Before Tuesday’s vote, Tennessee’s constitution allowed the General Assembly to impose taxes on real estate and other forms of property, even though lawmakers had chosen not to exercise that authority for decades.Now, any future attempt to establish a statewide property tax would require another constitutional amendment.But for homeowners in Nashville, Memphis, Knoxville and elsewhere across the state, the immediate financial impact is essentially zero.That’s because property taxes in Tennessee are collected by local governments, which use the revenue to help fund public schools, emergency services, infrastructure and other municipal and county operations.Those local taxes remain untouched by the amendment, meaning homeowners will continue receiving property tax bills based on their property’s assessed value and applicable local tax rates.Republican state Rep.

Tandy Darby, who sponsored the amendment, argued ahead of the vote that the constitutional protection would help shield homeowners from additional financial pressure.“Banning a state property tax will ...