If you don't count the recent downturn in the housing market, state and local governments have benefited handsomely from the run-up in home prices nationwide.
"As property values rise, so do tax collections," said Dubay of the Tax Foundation.
Homeowners in the Northeast faced some of the stiffest property taxes nationwide. In New Jersey, for example, the median property tax paid on owner-occupied housing was $5,352, according to the Tax Foundation.
Source: The Tax Foundation, based on 2005 Census data
Pricey property, high taxes
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