"While the underlying causes of Detroit’s tax foreclosure crisis are complex, we argue that excessive property tax assessments have played a significant role. Detroit’s Mayor, Mike Duggan, has on several occasions admitted that the City of Detroit is over assessing its residents.6 A study by Atuahene and Hodge found that Detroit is not only over assessing its residents, but it is doing this in violation of the Michigan Constitution, which states that no property can be assessed at more than 50% of its market value.7 Between 2009 and 2015, the City of Detroit assessed 53- 83% of its residential properties in violation of the Michigan Constitution.8 Such unconstitutional assessments belie the legitimacy of Detroit’s unparalleled property tax foreclosure rates."