IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/regeco/v108y2024ics016604622400070x.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Revisiting property tax capitalization

Author

Listed:
  • Lyu, Xueying

Abstract

This paper investigates the extent of property tax capitalization in the context of a progressive property tax pilot in Shanghai. I utilize a difference-in-differences approach by comparing neighborhoods with different tax rates before and after the implementation of the property taxes. Neighborhoods with a 0.2 percentage point higher marginal property tax rate experience a roughly 2.73% decrease in housing prices relative to their counterparts. The result reflects that at least 71% of expected property tax liabilities are capitalized into housing prices in a year. These changes also imply a large wealth redistribution as large as 2.68 years of average disposable income across homeowners.

Suggested Citation

  • Lyu, Xueying, 2024. "Revisiting property tax capitalization," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 108(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:regeco:v:108:y:2024:i:c:s016604622400070x
    DOI: 10.1016/j.regsciurbeco.2024.104039
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S016604622400070X
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.regsciurbeco.2024.104039?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Clément de Chaisemartin & Xavier D'Haultfœuille, 2020. "Two-Way Fixed Effects Estimators with Heterogeneous Treatment Effects," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 110(9), pages 2964-2996, September.
    2. Peter T. Chinloy, 1978. "Effective Property Taxes and Tax Capitalization," Canadian Journal of Economics, Canadian Economics Association, vol. 11(4), pages 740-750, November.
    3. Sieg, Holger & Smith, V. Kerry & Banzhaf, H. Spencer & Walsh, Randy, 2002. "Interjurisdictional housing prices in locational equilibrium," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 52(1), pages 131-153, July.
    4. Huanhuan Zheng & Qingyong Zhang, 2013. "Property Tax in China: Is It Effective in Curbing Housing Price?," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 33(4), pages 2465-2474.
    5. Brasington, David M., 2001. "Capitalization and Community Size," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 50(3), pages 385-395, November.
    6. Diane P. Krantz & Robert D. Weaver & Theodore R. Alter, 1982. "Residential Property Tax Capitalization: Consistent Estimates Using Micro-Level Data," Land Economics, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 58(4), pages 488-496.
    7. Michael S. Johnson & Michael J. Lea, 1982. "Differential Capitalization of Local Public Service Characteristics," Land Economics, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 58(2), pages 189-203.
    8. Lyu, Xueying, 2022. "Car restriction policies and housing markets," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 156(C).
    9. Elinder, Mikael & Persson, Lovisa, 2017. "House price responses to a national property tax reform," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 144(C), pages 18-39.
    10. Stacy Sirmans & Dean Gatzlaff & David Macpherson, 2008. "The History of Property Tax Capitalizationin Real Estate," Journal of Real Estate Literature, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 16(3), pages 327-344, January.
    11. Gallagher, Ryan M. & Kurban, Haydar & Persky, Joseph J., 2013. "Small homes, public schools, and property tax capitalization," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 43(2), pages 422-428.
    12. Yinger, John, 1982. "Capitalization and the Theory of Local Public Finance," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 90(5), pages 917-943, October.
    13. Banzhaf, H. Spencer & Farooque, Omar, 2013. "Interjurisdictional housing prices and spatial amenities: Which measures of housing prices reflect local public goods?," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 43(4), pages 635-648.
    14. Bai, ChongEn & Li, Qi & Ouyang, Min, 2014. "Property taxes and home prices: A tale of two cities," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 180(1), pages 1-15.
    15. Palmon, Oded & Smith, Barton A., 1998. "A New Approach for Identifying the Parameters of a Tax Capitalization Model," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 44(2), pages 299-316, September.
    16. Hui Wang & Yanyi Wang & Shunming Zhang, 2019. "Numerical simulation on property tax reform: evidence from China," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 51(20), pages 2172-2194, April.
    17. Charles M. Tiebout, 1956. "A Pure Theory of Local Expenditures," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 64(5), pages 416-416.
    18. Rosen, Harvey S & Fullerton, David J, 1977. "A Note on Local Tax Rates, Public Benefit Levels, and Property Values," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 85(2), pages 433-440, April.
    19. Du, Zaichao & Zhang, Lin, 2015. "Home-purchase restriction, property tax and housing price in China: A counterfactual analysis," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 188(2), pages 558-568.
    20. Stewart, Douglas O, 1978. "The Effect of Differential Property Tax Rates on the Sales Prices of Single Family Residential Properties," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 60(1), pages 150-153, February.
    21. Imai, Kosuke & Kim, In Song, 2021. "On the Use of Two-Way Fixed Effects Regression Models for Causal Inference with Panel Data," Political Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 29(3), pages 405-415, July.
    22. Michael Carlos Best & Henrik Jacobsen Kleven, 2018. "Housing Market Responses to Transaction Taxes: Evidence From Notches and Stimulus in the U.K," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 85(1), pages 157-193.
    23. Charles Ka Yui Leung & Tin Cheuk Leung & Kwok Ping Tsang, 2015. "Tax-driven Bunching of Housing Market Transactions: The Case of Hong Kong," International Real Estate Review, Global Social Science Institute, vol. 18(4), pages 473-501.
    24. Cao, Jing & Hu, Wenhao, 2016. "A microsimulation of property tax policy in China," Journal of Housing Economics, Elsevier, vol. 33(C), pages 128-142.
    25. Dye, Richard F. & McGuire, Therese J., 1997. "The effect of property tax limitation measures on local government fiscal behavior," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 66(3), pages 469-487, December.
    26. Wales, T J & Wiens, E G, 1974. "Capitalization of Residential Property Taxes: An Empirical Study," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 56(3), pages 329-333, August.
    27. Giertz, Seth H. & Ramezani, Rasoul & Beron, Kurt J., 2021. "Property tax capitalization, a case study of Dallas County," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).
    28. Man, Joyce Y., 1995. "The Incidence of Differential Commercial Property Taxes: Empirical Evidence," National Tax Journal, National Tax Association;National Tax Journal, vol. 48(4), pages 479-496, December.
    29. Jonathan Roth, 2022. "Pretest with Caution: Event-Study Estimates after Testing for Parallel Trends," American Economic Review: Insights, American Economic Association, vol. 4(3), pages 305-322, September.
    30. Edel, Matthew & Sclar, Elliott, 1974. "Taxes, Spending, and Property Values: Supply Adjustment in a Tiebout-Oates Model," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 82(5), pages 941-954, Sept./Oct.
    31. Oded Palmon & Baron A. Smith, 1998. "New Evidence on Property Tax Capitalization," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 106(5), pages 1099-1128, October.
    32. Pollakowski, Henry O, 1973. "The Effects of Property Taxes and Local Public Spending on Property Values: A Comment and Further Results," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 81(4), pages 994-1003, July-Aug..
    33. Meadows, George Richard, 1976. "Taxes, Spending, and Property Values: A Comment and Further Results," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 84(4), pages 869-880, August.
    34. Anping Chen & Marlon Boarnet & Mark Partridge & Siqi Zheng & Weizeng Sun & Rui Wang, 2014. "Land Supply And Capitalization Of Public Goods In Housing Prices: Evidence From Beijing," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 54(4), pages 550-568, September.
    35. Zhu, Guozhong & Dale-Johnson, David, 2020. "Transition to the property tax in China: A dynamic general equilibrium analysis," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 115(C).
    36. Polinsky, A. Mitchell & Rubinfeld, Daniel L., 1978. "The long-run effects of a residential property tax and local public services," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 5(2), pages 241-262, April.
    37. Man, Joyce Y., 1995. "The Incidence of Differential Commercial Property Taxes: Empirical Evidence," National Tax Journal, National Tax Association, vol. 48(4), pages 479-96, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Grodecka, Anna & Hull, Isaiah, 2019. "The Impact of Local Taxes and Public Services on Property Values," Working Paper Series 374, Sveriges Riksbank (Central Bank of Sweden).
    2. Isaiah Hull & Anna Grodecka-Messi, 2022. "Measuring the Impact of Taxes and Public Services on Property Values: A Double Machine Learning Approach," Papers 2203.14751, arXiv.org.
    3. Palmon, Oded & Smith, Barton A., 1998. "A New Approach for Identifying the Parameters of a Tax Capitalization Model," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 44(2), pages 299-316, September.
    4. Christian A. L. Hilber, 2017. "The Economic Implications of House Price Capitalization: A Synthesis," Real Estate Economics, American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association, vol. 45(2), pages 301-339, April.
    5. Hilber, Christian A. L., 2011. "The economics implications of house price capitalization a survey of an emerging literature," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 58596, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    6. Keith Dowding & Peter John & Stephen Biggs, 1994. "Tiebout : A Survey of the Empirical Literature," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 31(4-5), pages 767-797, May.
    7. David Stadelmann & Steve Billon, 2012. "Capitalisation of Fiscal Variables and Land Scarcity," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 49(7), pages 1571-1594, May.
    8. Livy, Mitchell R., 2018. "Intra-school district capitalization of property tax rates," Journal of Housing Economics, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 227-236.
    9. Giertz, Seth H. & Ramezani, Rasoul & Beron, Kurt J., 2021. "Property tax capitalization, a case study of Dallas County," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).
    10. Oded Palmon & Baron A. Smith, 1998. "New Evidence on Property Tax Capitalization," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 106(5), pages 1099-1128, October.
    11. Mustafa Oktem & Ju-Chin Huang, 2011. "Property tax shifting under imperfect competition," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 43(2), pages 139-152.
    12. Geoffrey K. Turnbull & Minrong Zheng, 2021. "A Meta‐Analysis of School Quality Capitalization in U.S. House Prices," Real Estate Economics, American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association, vol. 49(4), pages 1120-1171, December.
    13. Yuri Camara Batista & Ciro Biderman, 2016. "Property Tax Capitalization In Real Estate Values: Evidences From São Paulo," Anais do XLII Encontro Nacional de Economia [Proceedings of the 42nd Brazilian Economics Meeting] 063, ANPEC - Associação Nacional dos Centros de Pós-Graduação em Economia [Brazilian Association of Graduate Programs in Economics].
    14. Sylvie Charlot & Sonia Paty & Michel Visalli, 2013. "Assessing the impact of local taxation on property prices: a spatial matching contribution," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 45(9), pages 1151-1166, March.
    15. Gallagher, Ryan M. & Kurban, Haydar & Persky, Joseph J., 2013. "Small homes, public schools, and property tax capitalization," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 43(2), pages 422-428.
    16. Benjamin Wirth & Davidt Hardt & Isabella Lehmann, 2016. "Capitalization of Local Taxes and Expenditures - The case of Bavarian Municipalities," ERSA conference papers ersa16p773, European Regional Science Association.
    17. Chengrui Xiao & Bo Zhou, 2023. "Property taxes and rental housing: Evidence from China," Real Estate Economics, American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association, vol. 51(4), pages 931-958, July.
    18. Lang, Kevin & Jian, Tianlun, 2004. "Property taxes and property values: evidence from Proposition," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 55(3), pages 439-457, May.
    19. Angela S. Bergantino & Francesco Porcelli, 2013. "Housing market prices: capitalisation of efficiency in local public service provision. An application with data on Italian urban transport related expenditures," SERIES 0047, Dipartimento di Economia e Finanza - Università degli Studi di Bari "Aldo Moro", revised Aug 2013.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Property taxes; Housing prices; Capitalization;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D12 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Consumer Economics: Empirical Analysis
    • H71 - Public Economics - - State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations - - - State and Local Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue
    • R21 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Household Analysis - - - Housing Demand

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:regeco:v:108:y:2024:i:c:s016604622400070x. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/regec .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.