ABOUT THE VOSS REPORT

The latest Voss report (named after former state Sen. Gordon Voss of Blaine) is based on 2008 data. The process of "cleansing" the income tax data accounts for the delay, says Eric Willette, director of property tax research for the Minnesota Department of Revenue.

Willette acknowledges that the past three years have brought significant shifts in some of the many "moving parts" that affect property tax burdens -- falling home values, declining state aids and shrinking incomes, for example. But he says that because property tax hikes in these past few years have been relatively modest, "we are not going to see a whole lot of change" in the overall pattern.

The report works with total net property tax, which is the combined school, county and city tax, less all credits and refunds. It indexes these against total household income, both taxable and nontaxable.

The 1.3 million households in the study represent homesteaded residential properties. They do not include farm homesteads, which are taxed somewhat differently, or recreational properties. They also do not include renters. Six of Minnesota's 87 counties -- all outstate -- did not participate.

SEE FOR YOURSELF

Find the report at bit.ly/hq2lfy.