What is tax assessment?
Merriam Webster defines tax as: a charge usually of money imposed by authority on persons or property for public purposes.
Merriam Webster defines assessment as: the process of setting a value on real or personal property, usually for the purpose of taxation. It is carried out either by central government agencies or by local officials.
So the assessment comes before the tax. You can't tax before you have a value to tax. The tax assessment process is also called mass appraisal because the assessors are valuing all of the property in a county or city using standardized methods and statistical testing. It is also referred to as "ad valorem" taxation. Ad valorem is "according to value" in Latin.
Property taxes have been used since ancient times. Property taxes were collected in Egypt, Babylon, Persia, and China and throughout the ancient world. The primary focus of early property taxation was land and its productive value. This same system of taxing land based on its productive value was brought to the New World by the pilgrims.
Property taxes are the largest source of revenue for local governments. Property taxes pay for police and fire protection, road maintenance, teachers and schools, courts, parks, etc. In the United States property taxes are approximately 75% of local government tax revenue.
Tax assessment has become a profession and there are state laws which govern the education and experience of tax assessment personnel. Most tax assessment personnel work for counties or cities, but there are States that employ all of the appraisers for each county (Maryland is one).
There is also a professional organization called the International Association of Assessing Officers (IAAO). The IAAO provides education for assessment personnel nationwide and many states have State IAAO chapters. The IAAO also promotes mass appraisal standards that help assessment personnel establish reasonable and equitable values. They also award professional designations to tax assessors that have the education and experience and can demonstrate expert knowledge of the field.
