Homes and land with the highest market values are systemically under-assessed and under-taxed, while properties at the lowest market values are over-taxed. That's at the heart of findings uncovered by Asheville urban planner and consultant Joe Minicozzi.  His research shows that’s true in Buncombe County and the 17 other counties in Western North Carolina. 

We walk through Minicozzi's research, the responses he says he received from county officials and the financial and social costs of these inequities. He talks about long-entrenched biases and arbitrary processes baked into how properties are assessed for taxation. We go through some stunning numbers and the economic costs in a cash-starved county. Minicozzi also answers this question: Why and how is this inequity allowed to continue?

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