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The welfare implications of housing-related tax policies in China

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  • Guo, Shen
  • Jiang, Zheng

Abstract

This paper investigates the welfare implications of two housing-related tax policies in China, the property tax and the implicit residential land tax. We use a general equilibrium model with distorted land markets and households differing in home ownerships, asset holdings, and incomes. We find that the implicit residential land tax causes a larger social welfare loss than the property tax. The social welfare loss is due to the exacerbation of land misallocations and more significantly the rising of rents that disproportionally hurts the poor renters. Our findings thus imply that the currently imposed implicit residential land tax in China should be replaced by the conventional property tax.

Suggested Citation

  • Guo, Shen & Jiang, Zheng, 2021. "The welfare implications of housing-related tax policies in China," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 135-153.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:reveco:v:72:y:2021:i:c:p:135-153
    DOI: 10.1016/j.iref.2020.11.006
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    Cited by:

    1. Shangfa Hou & Jiaying Wang & Degui Zhu, 2022. "Has the Newly Imposed Property Tax Controlled Housing Prices? An Analysis of China’s 2009–2020 Interprovincial Panel Data," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(22), pages 1-18, November.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Housing; Fiscal policy; Welfare;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E62 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook - - - Fiscal Policy; Modern Monetary Theory
    • H31 - Public Economics - - Fiscal Policies and Behavior of Economic Agents - - - Household
    • R38 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Real Estate Markets, Spatial Production Analysis, and Firm Location - - - Government Policy

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