Nine experts examine the nature and administration of the property tax, analyzing its effects on educational opportunity, land use, racial residential patterns, central city finance, neighborhood deterioration, and low income housing. The so-called circuit-breaker, a form of property tax relief that has rapidly come into widespread use, is viewed from conflicting perspectives. The implications of using the property tax for school finance is examined in light of several court decisions on the issue. Reforms proposed by one or more authors include upgrading assessment practices, changing the property tax base to site values only, relying more heavily on user charges, and shifting part of the property tax to the State level. (Author/DN)