Taxing Immovable Property Revenue Potential and Implementation Challenges

John Norregaard

No 2013/129, IMF Working Papers from International Monetary Fund

Abstract: The tax on immovable property has been characterized as probably the most unpopular among tax instruments, in part because it is salient and hard to avoid. But economists continue to emphasize the virtues of the property tax owing to its relatively low efficieny costs, benign impact on growth, and high score on fairness. It is, therefore, generally considered to be underutilized in most countries. This paper takes stock of the arguments for using real property taxation, and presents an updated data-set for high-and middle income countries to illustrate its use. It also reflects the renewed and widespread interest in property tax reform globally, and discusses the many policy and administrative issues that must be carefully considered as prerequisites for successful property tax reform.

Keywords: WP; property tax tax revenue; stamp duty; collection ratio; market price; immovable property tax; recurrent property tax; immovable property taxes; underdeveloped property tax market; average revenue; assessed value; reform while; book value; property tax yield; property tax reform; property tax administration; property tax base; Property tax; Personal income; Land tax; Transaction tax; Africa; Eastern Europe; Caribbean; Global; South America (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 43
Date: 2013-05-29
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (75)

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