Our Commitment
Untax the Roof is an advocacy organization with a clearly stated objective: the complete abolition of recurring property taxation.
Holding that position does not relieve us of the responsibility to be accurate. Our advocacy must be supported by honest research, transparent sourcing, and a clear distinction between documented facts and organizational beliefs.
We will not knowingly publish guesses, assumptions, estimates, extrapolations, disputed claims, or personal opinions as established facts.
Source Standards
Whenever reasonably available, factual claims will be supported by direct links to the underlying sources. We will prioritize:
- Constitutions, statutes, regulations, and ordinances.
- Court opinions and official legal records.
- Government financial reports and official datasets.
- Legislative records, audits, meeting minutes, and public documents.
- Academic research and established research institutions.
- Credible reporting that identifies its evidence.
- Personal accounts and other secondary sources, clearly labeled when independent verification is unavailable.
A source's existence does not automatically establish that every statement within it is correct. We will consider its origin, methodology, context, limitations, and whether other reliable evidence supports or contradicts it.
Primary Sources
Whenever possible, we will link directly to the original statute, court decision, dataset, financial report, audit, assessment record, or other primary document. Secondary sources may help explain complicated subjects or identify primary materials, but they should not replace an available original source.
Facts, Opinions, and Advocacy
Untax the Roof will clearly distinguish among:
- Documented facts: Statements supported by reliable evidence.
- Estimates: Calculations or projections based on stated assumptions.
- Interpretations: Conclusions drawn from available evidence.
- Legal arguments: Positions about how a constitution, statute, or precedent should be understood.
- Disputed claims: Assertions for which credible sources disagree.
- Personal accounts: A person's description of an experience.
- Organizational positions: The policies and principles advocated by Untax the Roof.
- Unverified claims: Statements that we have not been able to confirm independently.
Our belief that recurring property taxes should be abolished is an advocacy position. We will not disguise that position as a neutral factual conclusion.
Statistics and Estimates
Published statistics should identify: the original source, the period covered, the geographic area covered, the units being measured, important definitions or exclusions, known limitations in the data, and whether a number is reported directly or calculated by Untax the Roof.
When we perform a calculation, we will explain the method sufficiently for another person to reproduce it whenever practical. Estimates and projections will be labeled as such. We will not present them as recorded historical facts.
Legal Information
Legal content will distinguish among existing law, binding court precedent, pending legislation or litigation, competing legal arguments, and Untax the Roof's position about how the law should change.
Untax the Roof does not provide individualized legal advice. People facing a tax lien, foreclosure, tax sale, redemption deadline, or other legal proceeding should consult a qualified professional familiar with the law in their jurisdiction.
Personal Stories
Personal experiences can reveal consequences that aggregated statistics do not show. Untax the Roof may publish personal stories when the individual gives permission.
We will seek supporting documents when reasonably available and independently verify major factual claims whenever possible. A personal account that cannot be independently verified may still be published when it is clearly identified as that person's account rather than an independently established fact.
Anonymous accounts may be accepted when a person does not wish to be publicly identified. If we cannot privately verify the person's identity or supporting details, the account will be labeled as unverified.
We will not publish unsupported accusations against identifiable individuals, businesses, or organizations merely because a submission is described as a personal story.
Outside Research and Submissions
Untax the Roof welcomes research, records, corrections, and source recommendations from supporters, public officials, researchers, journalists, organizations, and members of the public.
Outside material will be evaluated before publication. Acceptance of a submission does not mean that we automatically accept its conclusions.
Contributors may be named when they consent, have their organization credited when appropriate, request that their contribution remain uncredited, or be recognized on an acknowledgments page for substantial assistance. Credit does not transfer editorial responsibility. Untax the Roof remains responsible for deciding what it publishes.
Use of Artificial Intelligence
Artificial-intelligence tools may assist with locating materials, organizing information, analyzing data, or preparing drafts. AI output is not evidence and will not be cited as the authority for a factual claim.
Every published factual claim produced or assisted by AI must be checked against the original source whenever that source is available. Citations must direct readers to the evidence supporting the claim, not to the AI system that helped locate or explain it.
If an AI system provides a claim but no reliable supporting source can be found, the claim will not be presented as fact.
Corrections
We welcome corrections supported by evidence. Material factual errors will be corrected promptly after review. When a correction substantially changes the meaning of published content, we will add a dated correction note explaining what was changed.
Minor spelling, grammar, formatting, and broken-link repairs may be made without a correction notice when they do not alter the substance of the content.
We will not remove an accurate correction notice merely because it is embarrassing. A visible corrections process is part of earning and maintaining public trust.
Conflicts and Transparency
When a contributor, source, funder, or partner has a material interest that could reasonably affect how readers evaluate published research, Untax the Roof will disclose that relationship when known and relevant. Financial support will not guarantee favorable coverage, control over conclusions, or publication of unverified claims.
Contacting Us About an Error
Readers who identify a possible error should send the affected page, the statement believed to be incorrect, an explanation of the problem, and supporting sources or documents when available.
Correction requests may be sent to research@untaxtheroof.org, or through the contact form using the "Report a Correction" category. Every submission will be considered, but a request will not automatically result in a change unless the available evidence supports it.