Search

This research offers the first economic experiment investigating the land tax, where landowners invest under different property tax regimes. A voting treatment assesses the relative acceptability of land value taxation. Results show a land tax produced greater overall welfare in only 37.5% of the experiment sessions. Systematic overinvestment arises from the positional-good characteristic of residential land investment, but this effect vanishes when the positional-good indicator is removed. The experiments show that the participants unexpectedly voted in favor of the land tax, suggesting that the efficiency and acceptability of the land tax may be more complex than in nonbehavioral economics modeling. (JEL H21, H71) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The indifference and dereliction of Pakistan's legislators in formalizing an agricultural tax regime has unequivocally induced critical structural weaknesses in the fiscal machinery. Addressing the concern, the study has analysed the impact of agriculture taxes on the share of agriculture GDP of Pakistan and empirically investigated the long run relationship between the variables using time series data for last 23 years. It was empirically evaluated that increase in agriculture taxes led to a decrease in agriculture share of GDP. 1% increase in in the level of agricultural income tax decreased share of GDP by 0.073%. Whereas increase in land tax revenue had a significant positive effect on the agriculture share of GDP. Exempting agriculture income tax would give respite to agriculture community as done in china, where zero agriculture income tax was applied in practical. However, if income tax must be made functional then that tax rates should be revised in accordance with the income potential of agriculture lands; large land holdings be taxed, shares of the collected tax at district level should be spent on provision of local services which, in return, would help farmers increase income leading to higher income tax revenue. [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]

In this paper, it is argued that a more equitable distribution of the values derived from land is an important precondition for fairer society and an important practical way of securing resources for public services. Betterment taxation is a technically feasible but politically difficult way of achieving this. Following a broad review of the policy and technical background to land values and the various forms of land and betterment taxation in England, an outline sketch of a new system is set out for a betterment tax that is progressive, efficient, effective and transparent. It is concluded that a gradated betterment tax could reinforce the achievement of socially inclusive place making. Even a modest redistribution of the benefits which flow from the development of land could be transformational for many of our communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we develop a framework for an approach that assigns values to customary rural farmland parcels based on the local people’s view of land value to support land consolidation. In a case study of Nanton, Ghana, key land value factors were identified and weighted by the local community. The weights were integrated into the framework that produced a Land Value Index for each farmland parcel. Though the strength of the approach is found in scenario and sensitivity analyses. However, the prime weakness of this framework is that it is more expensive to use than automatic valuation models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current system of land taxation (including building lands) uses a system, where the tax is calculated in relation to the building land prices, which are table prices. The government's intention to tax lands (and building lands) on the basis of its market prices, with the idea that a higher market price means higher value and hence a higher tax is justified; however, today there is no uniform concept that would take account of such a system of taxation based on market real estate prices. The paper presents the latest results of research on the prices of building lands in the Slovakia and their determinants in the context of using these results in confronting the unfairness of the current system of taxation and presents possible proposals for changes to this system on a system linked to market prices of building lands. Using a sample of 960 building lands from the whole of Slovakia and using econometric models and OLS and conditional quantile regression estimation methods, we present basic research results useful in the process of preparing a new real estate taxation system based on the market prices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: We use a unique data set to examine the extent to which changes in the Danish land tax are capitalised into house prices. The Danish local government reform in 2007, which caused tax increases in some municipalities and tax decreases in others, provides plenty of exogenous variation, thus eliminating endogeneity problems. The results imply full capitalisation of the present value of future taxes under reasonable assumptions about discount rates. Consequently, the paper gives an empirical confirmation of two striking consequences of a land tax. First, it does not distort economic decisions because it does not distort the user cost of land. Second, the full incidence of a permanent land tax change lies on the owner at the time of the (announcement of the) tax change; future owners, even though they officially pay the recurrent taxes, are not affected as they are fully compensated via a corresponding change in the acquisition price of the asset. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A value-based recurrent property tax is levied in most African countries. However, its revenue performance is generally weak, which is largely a reflection of poor policy choices and ineffective and inefficient administration. Because of the lack of political support and administrative capacity of local and/or national government, poor tax-base coverage and poor assessment result in inequitable systems with inadequate revenue streams. This paper argues that simplified approaches to valuation could result in improved base coverage, a more equitable distribution of the tax burden, and, importantly, enhanced revenue. However, political and taxpayer acceptability of a more easily understood, simplified approach to valuation must also acknowledge the culture of a lack of trust and compliance in many, if not most, African countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper elaborates on recommendations in the literature for evaluating the need for property tax reforms, particularly for recurrent taxes on immovable property, which are found in more than 180 countries. It summarizes common reform issues and makes recommendations for reform programs. It contains policy and practice examples that are worthy of examination, based on the authors' experience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In appraising the value of a revenue-generating asset, it is often good appraisal practice to use the income approach when the data are available. However, there are different techniques of income capitalization that can be considered, including but not limited to the use of a gross income multiplier (GIM), a direct capitalization analysis, or a discounted cash flow (DCF) analysis. There are a number of regular users and uses of appraisals that require a property or other asset to be analyzed with one or more income techniques assuming the perspective of a certain level of income. Common examples are of appraisals of real property (usually requiring after-property-tax but before-income-tax analyses), appraisal of real property for ad valorem property tax assessment or appeal purposes (usually requiring before-property-tax net operating income [NOI] appraisals), and power plant and other special-purpose industrial property appraisals and many business appraisals (often requiring after-income-tax appraisals). This paper discusses the importance of ensuring the income multiplier, capitalization rate, or discount rate being used matches the cash flow or NOI it is being applied to. It provides the mathematical framework to allow appraisers to properly transition from one type of analysis to another -- cash flow or NOI before or after real estate taxes and/or before or after income taxes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Taxpayer information in the determination of value for the assessment of recurrent land taxation has been a priority of government over the past decade in Australia. As the need to increase revenue from this source intensifies, so too does the need to better understand how land value is determined and more importantly how it is used to assess land tax. This paper examines how information used in the determination of value has evolved and has assisted taxpayers and government over the past decade in Sydney, Australia. For this research, the numbers of objections to land values used to assess land tax in 10 local government areas of Sydney, Australia, over a 15-year period were provided by the New South Wales Valuer-General. Over this period and since 2006, when access to sales information became available to taxpayers, the number of objections to land values has decreased. The paper shows that although information has assisted in improving taxpayer understanding, resistance to paying the tax is concentrated in some local government areas of Sydney. In view of these observations, the paper makes a number of policy recommendations to encourage ongoing transparency of the assessment process, while further maintaining the efficiency of revenue from this source. [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]

This paper presents the first investigation of the effects of optimal energy taxation in an urban spatial setting, where emissions are produced both by residences and commuting. When levying an optimal direct tax on energy or carbon use is not feasible, the analysis shows that exactly the same adjustments in resource allocation can be generated by the combination of a land tax, a housing tax, and a commuting tax. We then analyze the effects of these taxes on urban spatial structure, showing that they reduce the extent of commuting and the level of housing consumption while increasing building heights, generating a more-compact city with a lower level of emissions per capita. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper makes the first attempt to empirically examine the effect of site value taxation on the value of land and explore the differential effects across various types of land use. Using municipality-level panel data, the study shows that raising the tax rate on land while lowering the tax rate on buildings leads to an increase in land value per acre. Further, this impact differs between residential land and commercial and industrial land. Residential land appears to be more responsive to changes in the tax differential than commercial and industrial land. The paper contributes to the literature on land value taxation by testing important theories that have never been tested before and offering the first empirical evidence on the impact of site value taxation on land value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alberta ended its regional planning commissions in 1996. They were replaced by voluntary inter-municipal negotiation, but this has raised concerns about adverse effects on land use. Pressure to terminate the commissions came largely from the rural municipalities. Some of them felt the commissions retarded their economic development. They believed that in a less restrictive planning environment, they would be able to attract a greater share of development, especially business. This study assesses the consequences of that change. Alberta's rapid growth over much of the post-1995 period affords an exceptional opportunity to search for noticeable changes in the urban-rural tax base and land-use patterns and balance. Municipal tax base is measured, and land use reflected, by property values. Those values are taken to be the provincially determined equalized assessments used for property tax purposes. Fortunately, these provide a reliable and consistent measure of property values across municipalities and over time for properties of different kinds. For the types of properties of prime interest for this analysis, residential and unregulated business property, equalized assessments approximate 100 per cent of market value. Residential property represents over 60 per cent of total provincial equalized assessments and business property about 20 per cent. In cities, the percentages are 70 per cent and 24 per cent; residential and business properties represent almost all the taxable property. The focus of the analysis is whether, during the past two decades, the shares of residential and/or business property have shifted from cities to rural municipalities. The possibility of shifting city-rural tax base/land-use patterns is explored from four perspectives. This report examines trends in the distribution of residential and business equalized assessments among the types of municipalities in the province. To obtain a better perspective in specific cases, the city-rural split of assessments is reported for the Edmonton and Calgary metropolitan areas and nine cities between 1997 and 2014. Examining the movements in the ratios of business to residential assessments of 31 city and rural municipalities provides further insight. The final approach is to simply review changes in the location of population and dwellings between cities and rural areas. There has been no notable or general shift of land development away from cities and to rural areas. Despite the rapid growth and the devolved planning environment, the cityversus- rural distribution of tax base and land use has, overall, been remarkably constant although development was definitely not uniform across Alberta cities. If anything, the cities' shares of residential development may have increased while their shares of business development have been more uneven. For both types of property, however, the development patterns have varied across both city and rural municipalities. Concern that the changed planning environment might have shifted property development towards the rural municipalities does not appear to have been justified. Whether this development met other planning criteria is not explored here. This analysis encourages more detailed investigations using alternative indicators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: At the beginning of the 20th century, Vancouver obtained international acclaim as a “single‐tax” city. Supporters claimed that land value taxation was responsible for the spectacular growth of the city. Even critics believed that it had produced a building boom and declining rents. Yet, over several decades, the system was scaled back and ultimately ended in 1984. This article argues that the property tax revolt can be understood with Mancur Olson's model of collective action. Property owners are better organized than other parties impacted by housing policy because they have financial resources and a salient economic concern in housing. Thus, the special interests of property owners in higher values and unrestricted use prevailed over the interests of tenants and prospective buyers. While the property tax revolt was often articulated in the progressive language of ability to pay, when confronted with progressive counterarguments, it collapsed into explicit arguments for rent‐seeking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An introduction is presented in which the author talks about the topics discussed within the issue including distribution of landed property, role of land in the development of a Polish immigrants, and decline of land value taxation in Vancouver.

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]

The article offers information on unit trust deeds which were prepared many years ago and do not reflect the range of trust, tax and other legal developments. Topics include information on unit trusts which are a common investment structure; how terms of a unit trust deed typically cover a number of important provisions; and what other tax implications arise if a unit trust is not fixed.