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A multiplicity of issues impact upon post-conflict economic recovery, one of which is land policy. Depending on the policy adopted, it could promote post-conflict economic growth, but it could also hinder the economy. This study reviews post-conflict economics and land conceptually and analyses the effect of land policy on post-conflict economic recovery in South Korea. Conceptually, post-conflict economy and land are interrelated in terms of security of land tenure, the land market, land (taxation) reform and revenue. Land tenure is secured through land reform in post-conflict situations. Security of land tenure stabilises and revitalises the land market, which leads to an increase in land tax. In addition, land taxation reform provokes an increase in land tax, and land tenure needs to be secured to maximise land tax collection through land taxation reform. The revenue collected through revitalisation of the land market and land taxation reform is utilised to stimulate post-conflict economic recovery. However, the South Korean case is not completely in line with the conceptual relationship. First, land taxation reform in South Korea resulted in an increase in public revenue, and the government was able to spend this revenue in supporting the war and partially stimulating post-conflict economic recovery. On the other hand, land tax reform could promote post-conflict economic recovery at the national level, while at the same time causing poverty at the individual level. Second, the South Korean case suggests that the foundation for the land market was laid during the post-conflict period and an increase in revenue through the revitalisation of the land market mainly contributed to economic development after the post-conflict period. In South Korea, land taxation reform had been more important than the land market for post-conflict economic recovery. • The post-conflict economy and land are interrelated in terms of land taxation reform and the land market. • In Korea, land tax reform promoted post-conflict economic recovery at the national level. • In Korea, the foundation for the land market was laid during the post-conflict period. • Land taxation reform was more important than the land market for post-conflict economic recovery in Korea. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Funding of new public transport infrastructure is challenging because of the typically large up front costs. Funding bodies are keen to find new ways of delivering new infrastructure and several funding schemes have been implemented which are based on the way in which better public transport from new infrastructure improves accessibility and raises land values have been implemented. Value capture, the term for a funding mechanism whereby the increase in land value following new infrastructure, has been widely viewed as an alternative funding tool for future public transport infrastructure and has been practiced in a number of forms (e.g., Tax increment financing (TIF)). However, few studies have addressed the equity implications in relation to value capture funding schemes. This study investigates the equity implications using Gold Coast Light Rail Transit (GCLRT) stage one in Gold Coast, Australia as the case study. This case study is used to evaluate four different funding schemes based on previous and existing value capture strategies, such as land value tax, value capture strategies (e.g., TIF and special assessments), and a public transport levy. The paper considers vertical and horizontal equity. There is some evidence of high levy for low income households in the GCLRT catchment areas for value uplift based schemes. The conclusions of the paper contribute to implementation of value capture scheme for many cities in Australia and elsewhere wanting to implement similar funding schemes to fund transport infrastructure. • This paper explores the equity implications of different value capture funding alternatives. • This study investigates the equity implications using Gold Coast Light Rail Transit (GCLRT) stage one in Gold Coast, Australia as the case study. • Four schemes are considered (i.e., land value based, household based, value uplift based and combined land value and value uplift based scheme). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to deal with severe traffic and environmental issues, transit-oriented development (TOD) has been encouraged in China. Land-based value capture strategies have been applied, with varying degrees of success, as a way of co-financing TOD investments. Often, these strategies are based on innovative, but informal planning and land management practices which help to bypass institutional barriersto the effective use of land-based value capture mechanism. This paper aims to identify the interaction between the institutional context and land-based value capture mechanisms for TOD in China and discusses potential ways to deal with those informal practices based on both empirical evidence from successful cases in some Chinese cities and international practices. The findings from literature review, expert interviews, a focus group meeting and three case studies highlight several insights: 1) the effectiveness of land-based value capture for TOD in China is constrained by unsupportive planning, rigid financial regulation, and inefficient governance; 2) informal planning strategies, including the "rail plus property strategy", the "two-step bidding strategy" and the "land reserve strategy" have been experimentally applied to bypass these barriers; and 3) evidence from international TOD policies on the one hand and the institutionalization of experimental planning strategies on the other hand suggests some options how China could move forward in this matter. • Three types of institutional barriers to value capture prevent effective TOD strategies in China. • Informal strategies have been taken by several Chinese cities as a way to bypass current regulation. • Supportive policies, planning experiments, and land value taxation are suggested as three institutional innovations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Major success factors and challenges to the use of land value capture to fund public transportation projects are identified. • Land Value Capture tools used to fund the metro rail system in Delhi, India—Delhi Metro—are reviewed. • A framework is presented to evaluate whether, how, and how well land value capture (LVC) tools are funding Delhi Metro. • Several intertwined factors, many related to land use planning and policy, limit magnitude of land value capture revenues. The proposed study contributes to the land use policy literature by first reviewing the existing literature to identify a set of major success factors and challenges to the use of land value capture (LVC) to fund public transportation projects. Next, it reviews LVC tools used to fund the metro rail system in Delhi, India—Delhi Metro. Finally, it uses the success factors and challenges identified in the study to present a framework for evaluating whether, how, and how well LVC tools are being used to fund Delhi Metro. This paper finds that several intertwined factors, many related to land use planning and policy, limit the magnitude of LVC revenues. These factors include a lack of consistency between the plans of transit agencies and local governments, that has led to poor planning for transit-oriented development (TOD) inside and around station land; the inability of transit agencies to control land use and zoning for and around the station; and over-reliance on capturing value from new properties instead of from all properties that benefit from the metro system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The polarity of views on land taxation in the individual EU Member States gives rise to an interesting comparison and finding a base that would capture the strengths of different approaches. This paper aims to assess the impact of legislative changes and land values on land tax imposed. The paper also provides a description of tax developments for each type of land in the Czech Republic, based on time series of tax imposed. The research is based on the evaluation of the secondary statistical data of the Czech Statistical Office and the Financial Administration of the Czech Republic, as well as the information obtained during the primary research. Immovable property tax revenues are low compared to other EU countries. Unlike most other states, the Czech Republic mainly uses the unit method of determining the tax base on the basis of the land area. Only for some types of land certain system of taxation is being used. As concluded from the analyses, it was verified that there is no difference in the development of the tax imposed between the types of land with value and unit tax base. The value method of tax assessment in the Czech Republic is determined by the quality of the land fund valuation and does not reflect the real market value of land. Revenue from land taxation generates income for municipal budgets more or less in all EU countries. The tax rates are set by law and the amount is the same for all municipalities in the Czech Republic. The municipality can affect the amount of revenues mainly through coefficients and the local coefficient can be considered as yet the most effective tool. As follows from the analyses, it was verified that the local coefficient did not significantly affect the land tax imposed and this is especially due to the fact that this coefficient was introduced only in less than 10% of municipalities. Current tax instruments in the context of land taxation are not very effective in the Czech Republic, and municipalities use them only to a limited extent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The destruction of natural habitats for agricultural production results in local biodiversity loss. Biodiversity loss in turn affects agricultural production indirectly through a range of biodiversity-dependent ecosystem services. Land conversion thus results in a negative externality, mediated by changes in biodiversity. When the consequences of this externality are delayed in time, lack of internalization results in overshoot-and-collapse dynamics, which are undesirable from a sustainability perspective. Here, we emphasize the importance of forward-looking policies for the long-term sustainability of human–nature interactions. We show that the internalization of this externality through a land tax can result in several win-win effects in the long run. First, more biodiversity is preserved at equilibrium, which increases the carrying capacity and total well-being of the human population. Second, a taxation path that maximizes the discounted sum of human utilities prevents or greatly alleviates overshoot-and-collapse crises, thus increasing the sustainability of the system. In particular, this result holds in the case of imperfect information regarding the precise temporal dynamics of biodiversity loss, suggesting that the design of efficient land-use management policies is possible despite incomplete ecological data. This study highlights the need to internalize biodiversity-dependent externalities through economic incentives, especially under uncertainty regarding long-term ecological dynamics. Highlights • We internalize the externality of biodiversity loss through land taxes. • Land taxes preserve biodiversity and human well-being in the long run. • Optimally-chosen land taxes eliminate overshoots in social-ecological systems. • Efficiency holds despite incomplete scientific knowledge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Since the early 1990s developer contributions have been the main instrument for land value capture by local government in the UK. There has been little empirical research that has investigated the extent of land value capture and how it may have varied over time in the light of shifting policy regimes and changing real estate market conditions. This paper attempts to address this issue by investigating trends in land value capture through developer contributions in inner London during the period 2005–2017. Using a land valuation model that attempts to simulate the approach to land pricing used by real estate developers, a time series of land values and developer contributions has been generated. It is estimated that, over the study period, developer contributions amounted to 45%–65% of land value assuming a no developer contribution regime. In a period during which national housing and planning policy has changed significantly, non-market housing contributions have comprised a significant proportion of land value capture. As residential property prices have increased, the absolute amount of land value capture has also increased, yet the relative proportion of land value captured has decreased. This finding is mainly due to the failure of local planning policies on developer contributions to keep pace with house price growth. The findings also reveal that, despite a policy environment that has been unsympathetic to delivery of non-market housing through developer contributions, the removal of the social housing grant for non-market housing developed as a component of private schemes in 2010 seems to have increased land value capture relative to the pre-2010 policy regime. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Where real estate taxation differentiates between land uses, size of built structures, developed and undeveloped land, it has an influence on the decisions of landowners what and how to build. Still, real estate taxation is often only used to generate a stable source of revenue for the public administration, rather than as an active control mechanism in land policy and planning, despite its relationship with urban development. As a form of real estate taxation, a tax on land values only is recurrently discussed in literature to have beneficial effects for urban development. Planners who propose a land value tax (LVT) often argue that it leads to higher building density and a more frequent re-use of brownfields. LVT could curb undesired ‘urban sprawl’ and lead to a more efficient land use, compliant to zoning and urban planning designations. In most countries however, the real estate tax is determined by the value or size of buildings, and not by the value of land. Only a small number of countries has introduced a land-based only real estate tax system. Estonia is the only country in the European Union that in 1993 has done so, but there has been no case study of the effects of it on urban structure so far. This is surprising given its relatively rigorous implementation. In this paper, I will give an overview of the debate on land value tax and urban planning, before I briefly analyse the dynamics of land policy that ensued from the introduction of the land value tax on urban development in the Estonian capital Tallinn since its introduction in 1993. I compare my findings with neighbouring Riga in Latvia, which has retained a building-based taxation system. I conclude that, while statistical results indeed seem to suggest an increased capital-land-ratio and slightly increasing population density in Tallinn as opposed to Riga, both regions show considerable suburbanisation and sprawl, challenging the effectiveness of the LVT implementation in Tallinn. The result also points to the importance of other influences on urban development, and the difficulties in separating the effects of LVT from them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to quantify the municipal tax-revenue effects of increases in built-up areas. The assumed existence of these effects is one of the key reasons for ongoing land consumption on the part of the municipalities. Some previous case studies have however suggested that these effects may not be large enough, especially in rural municipalities, and would thus make land development unprofitable. We estimate the effect of built-up industrial and commercial (BIC) area change on business tax revenues in cross-sectional instrumental variable estimations. Based on detailed data for Bavaria, we find that an increase in municipal BIC area has a significant and positive tax-revenue effect. The size of this effect differs sharply between urban and rural municipalities and between cities with different population densities. The positive overall effects become much smaller when large cities are excluded from the sample. Based on these findings, we reflect on the tradable planning permits scheme recently discussed in the literature on land use in the context of policies aiming to limit land consumption. In addition, we relate our estimates to the average municipal costs for land development and undertake a number of robustness checks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Disparate elements of cosmopolitan lifestyle, rustic primitivism, inter-war nostalgia, communist ideological reminiscences, and post-communist transformations make difficult to find a community-based solution to land issues in Romania that is able to cover economic, social, and environmental interests. This paper outlines a scenario on future land governance, emphasizing that the land debate has moved beyond dialectics about the abundance or lack of production to a broader context about what is deemed to be land apart its material ground. Survey data was obtained from 184 structured interviews on citizens from the North-West and Center Development Regions of Romania and the overarching purpose of this research was to fill in the knowledge gaps on beliefs about land and its vulnerabilities mediated by a communication technology: video materials. Two research objectives were set as it follows: (i) to identify current frames related to land and to its selected vulnerabilities − foreign land grabbing, high natural value farmland (HNVF) reduction, and scarcity of farmers − and (ii) to move forward along the line of land frames to determine the influence of information in video format on citizens’ beliefs about studied variables. Thus, the study employs the concept of framing to analyze a collection of beliefs about land and its functions, assuming the basic underlying premise that frames, in general, permit individuals to locate, perceive, identify, and label facts and things. The influence of video information on citizens’ beliefs on land functions and vulnerabilities was discovered and the main findings prove that land frames are context dependent and flexible. The results highlight the role of land in the Romanian collective mind and they may represent a starting point for land governance in Romania that incorporates the real interests of citizens. By heeding concerns about land functions, HNVF reduction, scarcity of young farmers and foreign land grabbing under the conceptual approach of frames, this contribution transforms itself in a call for a “ Stop and start over! ” time for saving the national rural heritage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The cadastral map is a large-scale cartographic record of property ownership that preserves the dimensions and shape of an owned land parcel on the earth surface, but also the spatial relationship of all individual parcels to each other. There are hundreds of thousands of cadastral maps to be found all over the world. Cadastral maps aided land assignment and taxation, presenting statistics essential for territorial administration, or as a symbol of state control over land. The historical land cadastre introduced in the early nineteenth century in the Austrian Empire, was the foundation of many countries' land register systems. One of the areas it covered was Galicia, a southern part of Poland annexed by Austria in the eighteenth century during the Partitions. The study evaluates the use of old Austrian cadastral maps in southern Poland, mainly in matters related to property boundaries. The Austrian Cadastre lost its importance in Poland after the Second World War due to sociopolitical changes. Still, it became a source of data on real property boundaries once again after the 1989 transformation, which restituted and enhanced ownership rights. Today, modern court proceedings on boundary disputes, easement appurtenant decisions, release of property, grant of property title, or usucaption often need to refer to historical legal sources, including the Austrian Cadastre (cadastral maps and land tax registers) to determine ownership boundaries. The paper presents numerous examples of modern uses of historical land cadastre documents, including cadastral maps and land tax registers in land surveying and legal procedures in Poland. The results show that data from the historical land cadastre remain a source of information when determining ownership boundaries despite the time passed. Therefore, the cadastral documentation offers not only historical and research value but also a practical one. • The policy of the communist period led to the erasure of information about boundaries of individual property titles. • In Poland, Austrian cadastral maps are still used in court proceedings to establish property boundaries. • The Austrian cadastre makes it possible to reconstruct the extent of ownership rights to land. • Numerous examples of proceedings demonstrate the utilitarian character of Austrian cadastre documentation. • For years Austrian cadastre documentation was treated only as archival and used for scientific purposes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Generally, subsidies increase the supply of goods beyond optimal amounts, and generate deadweight losses. The urban fringes receive implicit land-rent subsidies from the governmental provision of public works and civic services paid for mostly by taxing properties, goods, and income, rather than only the land values generated by these public goods. The provision of utilities such as water is also skewed towards subsidizing the fringes. The taxation of most of the land rent or land value, combined with the elimination of other taxes, especially on improvements, would prevent such subsidies and allow development markets to generate an optimal urban development. Urban sprawl, defined as the use of land relative to optimal use, would gradually become eliminated with the elimination of both horizontal land subsidies and the taxation of vertical development. Land value taxation would also prevent distortive land speculation and, combined with a reduction of taxes on wages or goods paid from wages, would remove a major source of economic inequality while improving productivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary Rwanda has recently implemented a nation-wide program of first-time land regularization (LTR) that many believe set new standards for the region. We use administrative data combined with household survey- and program-rollout information to explore sustainability of the infrastructure created in this process, including the impact of public efforts to increase registration of subsequent transactions. We find that the program provided significant benefits in terms of gender equality and credit access while opening up new opportunities in terms of land taxation or land use planning, but that high level of rural informality may undermine these in the medium to long term. While public efforts to decentralize service provision helped to significantly reduce informality, additional efforts are likely to be needed to ensure sustainability of the registry. We discuss how Rwanda can further move in this direction and draw out implications for other countries considering first time adjudication and registration of property rights. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two taxes, introduced in 1643, became cornerstones of early modern English supply. Whereas that bureaucratic indirect tax, the excise, seems a natural part of a centralised and institutional Fiscal-military state, the Assessment appears mired in ancient practice. Yet this new tax was far heavier and more successful than any predecessor. This study attempts to explain that success, which continued as the eighteenth-century Land Tax, and proposes it was founded on well-designed administrative process and routine, engineered to tap rent-flows from an increasingly commercialised real estate sector. It was facilitated by effective and well-established local governors who had appropriate authority, capabilities and experience to operate that process, not always perfectly or fairly, but remarkably effectively for the state’s purposes. Members of Parliament bore a significant administrative burden as centre came to locality in a most direct way to ensure national coordination and shared ownership of fiscal success between London and locality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We use information of the period 2000–2010 to assess the land market neutrality of a Land Value Development Tax (LVDT) in Bogota (Colombia). This city introduced the LVDT in 2004 and it offers an excellent vantage point for observation of its effects because of these reasons: (a) the LVDT follows a clear spatial and temporal application process; (b) the LVDT is applied over an extended metropolitan area regulated by a single master plan throughout all the years of application of the tax; (c) the city comprises a single public authority for revenue and taxation purposes; and (d) there has been no previous historical experience with the use of this type of land exaction in the city or its region. The LVDT is a one-time exaction levied where regulatory or infrastructural state interventions determine price increases, making it a difficult assessment subject when compared to the pure land tax. However, the aforementioned characteristics of our case study allow us to test its static (lowering of land prices) and dynamic (no development timing effects) neutrality in an emerging urban environment, using single and multi-equation spatial panel techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Every country has land policy and land planning systems to improve social, physical, spatial and economic imbalance. Land policies provide the framework, direction and continuity of decisions made for the function of land in the implementation of national development plans which involve local, state and regional plans. In Malaysia, land policies are implemented within a broader framework, which is supervised by the government. Some land policies were implemented based on the National Land Code (NLC). The National Land Code, 1965 came into force on 1st January 1966 to administer all land matters in Peninsular Malaysia and the Federal Territory of Labuan while Sabah and Sarawak continued to use the Sabah Land Ordinance 1930 and Sarawak Land Code 1958 respectively. The purpose of the NLC is to ensure the uniformity of land policy and land law with respect to land tenure, registration, transfer, charges, leases, easements and other interests and rights to land. Rapid development and various needs for securing proprietors’ interests have put a lot of demands on land administration. A new three-dimensional (3D) cadastral system was proposed to cater for above and below surface cadastral objects and to enable the registration of real properties that are not limited to the land surface. The 3D approach for cadastral and land registration systems can provide a better means to manage modern cadastral objects. There are two organisations within Peninsular Malaysia responsible for managing and maintaining the land administration system, namely, the Department of Survey and Mapping Malaysia (DSMM) and the District Land Offices which are responsible for the cadastral survey and ownership rights respectively. Both organisations have their own information systems called eLand in District Land Offices and eCadastre in DSMM. There are three arguments to further improve the land administration system towards e-Government services – government guarantee of indefeasibility of title to private land; information integration for good governance of land administration; systematic and accurate recording for land taxation purposes as a source of important state revenue. Those arguments clearly demonstrated the need for the Land Administration Domain Model (LADM). The LADM is an international standard for land administration purposes. Malaysia does not have a standard model for land administration. Standardisation of land administration within a country should meet the international standard, this will hasten land transactions between international entities. This paper attempts to outline Malaysian land policy in relation to the framework of the National Land Policy and LADM standard as a reference model for Malaysian land administration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Land grant premiums and land tax revenues have become two major sources of fiscal revenue for city governments in China. This type of fiscal revenue strategy for city governments is generally referred to as “land finance”, and it has drawn increasing research attention in recent years. This paper explores the institutional causes of the “land finance” strategy of city governments in China. We first analyze the institutional foundation of “land finance” (including China's urban land use system and land expropriation system). We then propose two hypotheses about the institutional causes of “land finance”. The first hypothesis is that the current system of fiscal decentralization is a major reason city governments choose the “land finance” fiscal strategy. The second hypothesis is that under the current personnel control system, which uses local economic performance as the most important indicator for evaluating local government officials, the competition between city governments to promote local economic growth is another major reason city governments choose the “land finance” fiscal strategy. We test the hypotheses by estimating econometric models using data for 31 provincial-level regions for the period 1999–2008. The empirical results suggest that fiscal decentralization and competition between city governments to promote economic growth are two major causes of “land finance”. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on a multilevel and quantile hedonic analysis regarding the local public bus system and the prices of residential properties in Cardiff, Wales, we find strong evidence to support two research hypotheses: (a) the number of bus stops within walking distance (300–1500 m) to a property is positively associated with the property's observed sale price, and (b) properties of higher market prices, compared with their cheaper counterparts, tend to benefit more from spatial proximity to the bus stop locations. Given these statistical findings, we argue that, land value tax (LVT), albeit a classic political idea dating back to the early 20th century, does have contemporary relevance and, with modern geographic information technologies, can be rigorously analysed and empirically justified with a view to actual implementation. Levying LVT will not only generate additional fiscal revenues to help finance the development and maintenance of local public infrastructures, but will also ensure a more just distribution of the economic welfare yielded by public investment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ensuring the protection of natural vegetation is a complex challenge that demands a mix of policies. In Brazil, conservation on private land relies on large-scale command-and-control instruments and a few Payments for Ecosystem Services schemes, with taxation playing a minimal role for conservation. The Rural Land Tax (Imposto Territorial Rural , ITR) is a long-established rural tax created to stimulate pasture productivity and promoting social, agricultural, and environmental benefits. Despite the potential for environmental protection, several problems lead to low achievement of ITR's goals. Such problems include low revenue, the difficulty in inspecting declarations, obsolete productivity criteria, and intrinsic environmental distortions. In this work, we analyze current ITR and show that distortions can potentially occur even for properties that adopt deforestation in the Amazon. We also built a spatially explicit model that estimate tax revenue at a property level under different scenarios. Then, we simulate two scenarios: the first corresponds to the existing Law, and the second, to a legal revision we propose to overcome some of its current problems. We found that total tax collection under the current Law should be BRL 5.75 bi per year, almost four times the actual value collected in 2017 (BRL 1.5 bi). The results suggest that the low achievement of goals follows from a large group paying meager tax rates and another group being overpenalized. Results for the proposed revision highlight its inherent potential to address ITR's central challenges, and for a given set of parameters, the revenue under the new formulation could rise to BRL 16.8 bi per year. Our results provide a concrete and science-based alternative for ITR. The application of the proposals of revision we suggest could promote additional environmental protection, consequently strengthening the role of taxation as an instrument for the maintenance of natural vegetation in Brazil. • We evaluate the potential of a land tax for environmental protection in Brazil. • We focus on ITR, a long-established rural tax with several known problems. • We use examples to illustrate ITR's current environmental distortions. • Our spatial simulation shows that current collection is much lower than expected. • We propose consistent and science-based alternatives to address ITR's challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The Estonian economy in the past two decades has been highly leveraged and was characterised by increases in real estate prices. These increases in prices developed the pattern of a possible speculative bubble. In Estonia during this period, a land value tax was enforced; however, the tax implemented in 1993, was estimated only in 2001, thus diminishing its role as a buffer against speculative behaviour in the real estate market. The aim of this research is to assess whether the peak-to-trough phases in the Estonian real estate market characterised the pattern of a speculative bubble and to verify if a more rigorous implementation of the land tax would have lessened the speculative behaviour. We first give a perspective of the Estonian financial and economic environment; secondly, we empirically assess through econometric tests whether a bubble affected the Estonian real estate market; thirdly, we analyse through a panel model if a correct implementation of land tax would have buffered the speculative cycle in the real estate market. The results of our study demonstrate the presence of speculative bubble in the Tallinn house price and show that a more rigorous implementation of the Estonian land tax would have reduced the effects of the boom and bust dynamics in the real estate market. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Taiwan has a wealth of experience in employing a graded, or split-rate, property tax. It is believed that a graded property tax can increase the capital intensity of improvements to land, and thus improve economic activities. In order to achieve this, land value needs to be extracted from the price of an improved property. Despite the long history of a graded property tax in Taiwan, the accuracy and corresponding equity issues of land valuation have so far received scant attention. This study adopts a linear regression model with data sets of both vacant land and improved property to separate land and structure values. This approach solves the common problem of scarce land sales and the empirical results turn out satisfactorily. The empirical findings suggest that the ratio of land value to total property price varies across property types and age of property. In addition, the current practice is likely to contribute to assessment inequity, and consequently tax inequity. All these observations call for the need to overhaul the present property assessment system. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper highlights the potential contribution of economics to the formulation and implementation of land use policies that aim at a more sustainable use of land. It introduces the economic way of conceptualizing and understanding the problem of land consumption and discusses exemplary policy instruments based on this understanding: taxation of either land use or sealing and tradable development permit schemes. These examples are drawn from current land use policy debates in Germany but likewise apply to other countries and regions. The authors conclude that economic land use policy instruments can make a significant contribution to the containment of land consumption, i.e., to a more efficient use of already developed sites and to a denser development of new sites. However, the examples presented also clearly demonstrate that incentive-based approaches need a tight regulatory planning framework to produce positive environmental effects. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Excessive land use regulations aimed at containing urban sprawl have been criticised, because they may overcompensate for the external effects of uncontrolled greenfield development and contribute to stagnation in house building. Taxes on building in green spaces may be an instrument for balancing urban growth and the protection of the landscape. This paper discusses development tax and puts it in the context of other planning instruments. It reviews a recent policy debate in the Netherlands relating to the introduction of an open space tax and the research into this tax. It also investigates the policy process, which resulted in the tax not being introduced. Finally, conclusions are drawn as to whether the taxation of development may be a useful instrument to complement other planning measures. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Biodiversity policies are suffering an implementation crisis; the roots are deeply entrenched in the unfair competition between the public and private interests for suitable versus available land. In this article we propose a value-based equivalence method for compensation for the 20% compulsory reserves in the Taquari River sub-catchments, as legally required for central savannas of Brazil. Using regression techniques we analyzed 106 land deals in the Pantanal''s watershed and identified the most significant variables influencing land value. We argue that the commonly used area-for-area, compensation mechanism, where 1 ha of compulsory reserve is missing, requires another hectare protected in the same catchments, instead of counteract habitat loss, is in fact harmful to biodiversity, stimulating progressive habitat destruction. We identified the economic forces behind deforestation and habitat fragmentation in the central savannahs of Brazil and proposed a market-based approach to counteract these forces using tools already available in environmental economics. We suggest that a dollar-for-dollar reference to determine land equivalence and compensation can better counter-balance the incremental losses from habitat destruction, while providing objectivity and transparency for trading alternatives. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Vacant land presents many challenges for older financially distressed cities. Community engagement is a very important element to solve the urban vacant land problem and assist in long term regeneration. This paper reviews what plans, policies, implementation methods, and community engagement process were developed to overcome barriers and challenges to vacant land projects. Most studies reveal that the importance of community engagement process in terms of understanding the problems and potential value of vacant land, redevelopment process, financial support, regulation, and neighborhood organizations participation for vacant land projects. To encourage community engagement to repurpose vacant land, municipalities should have to provide adequate information about vacant land conditions and their potentials in terms of ecological and social value. Code enforcement and tax foreclosure are efficient ways to control vacant land and the abandoned building problem. Tax incentive systems, such as high taxation rates on land but a low rate or no tax at all on infill development on vacant land, tax credits on vacant land forest structure, and rehabilitation abatement on abandoned buildings can increase public investment in vacant land. Local governments should support such efforts by creating community involvement groups, such as neighborhood coordinators, civic leaders, CDCs (Community Development Corporations), and other community-based nonprofit organizations. Community engagement is not specific planning, but it is part of an ongoing process in planning strategies to urban regeneration and renewal vacant land. • Studies reveal that the importance of community engagement, financial support, regulation, and neighborhood organizations participation • Municipalities should provide adequate information about vacant land conditions and their potentials in terms of ecological and social value • Creating neighborhood coordinators, civic leaders, CDCs, and other community-based nonprofit organizations for vacant land • Community engagement is not specific planning, but it is part of an ongoing process to urban regeneration and renewal vacant land [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The theoretical case for land value taxation (LVT) is compelling yet uptake is not widespread. • Political and practical considerations are important when implementing LVT. • LVT needs to be linked to a robust land ownership register. • LVT requires valuations which separate land value from the value of improvements. • Such practical issues create uncertainty compared with existing taxes. A land value tax is a recurrent tax on landowners based on the value of unimproved land. There is a widely held view that a land value tax is an economically efficient means of taxing wealth and of encouraging land development. The arguments presented in the policy and academic literature tend to concentrate on the compelling theoretical case, but most do not consider the detail of how such a tax might be implemented. Indeed, land value taxation is not widely implemented as a standalone real estate tax despite the strong theoretical rationale for its use. We explore why this might be by identifying key practical, political and economic factors surrounding the implementation and operation of land value taxation in six countries. We examine the various rationales for the introduction of land value tax, reasons for its continued use or abolition (where applicable) as well the particular practical and political issues which policymakers need to consider prior to introducing land value taxation. These include the need for a comprehensive up-to-date land registry and forward planning of land use at plot level; the provision of a well-resourced and informed valuation profession; resources to undertake robust valuations which separate the value of land from the value of improvements for developed plots and do so on the basis of highest and best use; and the need for widespread political support for the introduction of a new tax (which may be difficult to secure). These issues present significant uncertainty in comparison with already-existing forms of land and property taxation. We conclude that these issues may therefore provide some explanation as to the lack of widespread adoption of land value tax despite the economic theoretical arguments in its favour. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Switching from a property tax to a land tax is likely to create winners and losers. • The scale of the shift from businesses to residents is considerable; from entities that don't vote to those that do. Perhaps this explains why it has never been done! • The use of different tax rates may alleviate the shift. • For agricultural land, expansion of the tax base to include this land use has a marginal impact in Reading but is likely to be more contributory in more rural areas. • Detailed and up to date land ownership records are essential, as is the existence of comprehensive land use planning and development control system. After all, land use allocation is a key value influence, and land values are very sensitive to planning assumptions. Whilst the theoretical case in favour of a tax on the value of land (a land tax) is well established, examples of its implementation in practice are relatively few in number. Where a land tax is levied, it is often part of a suite of land and property taxes that includes transfer taxes, wealth taxes betterment and recurrent taxes on land and property. Rarely is a land tax the sole mechanism for taxing real estate. Yet there is no shortage of land tax supporters, even in countries where other forms of real estate tax have a long history. England is one such country, where real estate taxes have existed since the 17th century in one form or another. Despite coming close at the beginning of the 19th century, governments on the left, right and in the centre ground of political discourse have not implemented a land tax. In the land tax debate throughout this period, there was an absence of empirical research to underpin the positions adopted by either proponents of a land tax or defenders of the status quo. It was not until 1964 that a small pilot exercise was undertaken to investigate the implications of introducing a land tax in England. This seems odd given that frequently cited criticisms of a land tax centre on its practical difficulties. This paper, therefore, looks at some of the consequences of switching from recurrent real estate taxes that are based on the value of land and improvements to one that is based on the value of land only. Focusing on one local authority area in the south east of England, the paper answers the following questions: how might the valuation of land be undertaken in a developed economy where most transactional evidence relates to land together with improvements, and what are the revenue implications of switching from a tax where the liability falls on the land owner rather than the property occupier in first instance. In particular, who are the winners and losers and does expansion of the tax base to include agricultural land uses significantly increase tax revenue? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]