It’s not just the business lobby questioning the practicality of the General Assembly’s proposed “homestead exemption” act.

A senior economist at U.Va.’s Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service has said the provision could cash-strap localities and fails to help renters, who often represent the state’s low income residents.

In his study, professor John Knapp outlines problems with the proposed constitutional amendment.

Knapp points out that when Gov. Tim Kaine first proposed the exemption during his 2005 gubernatorial campaign, assessments were skyrocketing. Now, cash-strapped localities might be unlikely to lower the tax rate to provide real relief to homeowners.

He also questions whether local governments would ask the General Assembly for another taxation avenue, such as a local income tax. Knapp also highlights how the tax could harm the state’s “tax friendliness” system as the local tax burden shifted to industrial and commercial properties.