Property Taxation: Transformational Changes in the Digital Era and Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic

The timeliness of this research is determined by the large-scale changes taking place in the world economy under the influence of digitalization, which accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic. These processes affect the direction of transformational changes in property taxation. The object of the study is property taxation in the context of the proliferation of various forms of digital assets, which are virtual property. The purpose of the article is to find correlations between digitalization, the need to limit overconsumption, which has increased during the pandemic of a new coronavirus infection, and the prospects for changes in property taxation. The possibilities of state tax regulation and interstate cooperation in the context of property taxation are considered. The prospects for expanding the effect of property taxation to the virtual spaces of the metauniverse are highlighted. The article uses general scientific research methods such as analysis, synthesis, generalization and analogy, and contains historical and cross-country comparison. The information base is formed on the basis of data from international organizations, consulting, analytical and research companies, as well as government agencies. As a result of the research, the hypothesis was confirmed that the current changes in the global economy require transformation of approaches to property taxation both at the state and international levels, taking into account the expansion of modern technology capabilities and the need to limit excessive consumption. Recommendations have been formulated to expand the scope of property taxation in virtual spaces and to increase the level of the wealth taxation of the wealthiest segments of the population possessing virtual forms of ownership.