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Greening the Property Tax

Author

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  • Nicola Brandt

    (OECD)

Abstract

This paper reviews the literature and policy discussions about the role of the property tax for land use. Various externalities of the development of land, such as new infrastructure needs, the loss of open space or air pollution due to longer commutes as people locate far from city centres, are not internalised fully by property taxes or other policy instruments and this is often thought to contribute to excessive land use and urban sprawl. The impact of property taxes on land use intensity and sprawl is ambiguous in theory, however, and it depends on tax design, as well as land use regulation policies and other taxes that can influence municipalities’ incentives to convert land for development. Yet, there is some evidence suggesting that higher property taxes can limit urban sprawl, in particular when the tax on land is higher than on structures, although effects are small given relatively given a limited price elasticity of land use. Various property tax design options are discussed that may help to better internalise land use related externalities.

Suggested Citation

  • Nicola Brandt, 2014. "Greening the Property Tax," OECD Working Papers on Fiscal Federalism 17, OECD Publishing.
    • Handle: RePEc:oec:ctpaab:17-en
    DOI: 10.1787/5jz5pzw9mwzn-en
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Kalkuhl, Matthias & Fernandez Milan, Blanca & Schwerhoff, Gregor & Jakob, Michael & Hahnen, Maren & Creutzig, Felix, 2017. "Fiscal Instruments for Sustainable Development: The Case of Land Taxes," MPRA Paper 78652, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    2. Alexander Leodolter & Savina Princen & Aleksander Rutkowski, 2022. "Immovable Property Taxation for Sustainable and Inclusive Growth," European Economy - Discussion Papers 156, Directorate General Economic and Financial Affairs (DG ECFIN), European Commission.
    3. Langer, Sebastian & Korzhenevych, Artem, 2018. "The effect of industrial and commercial land consumption on municipal tax revenue: Evidence from Bavaria," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 279-287.
    4. Taranu, Victoria & Verbeeck, Griet, 2022. "Property tax as a policy against urban sprawl," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 122(C).
    5. Langer, Sebastian & Korzhenevych, Artem, 2017. "The effect of land consumption on municipal tax revenue: Evidence from Bavaria," CEPIE Working Papers 18/17, Technische Universität Dresden, Center of Public and International Economics (CEPIE).
    6. Boris Cournède & Jean-Marc Fournier & Peter Hoeller, 2018. "Public finance structure and inclusive growth," OECD Economic Policy Papers 25, OECD Publishing.
    7. Elisabeth Arnold & Katharina Falkner & Margit Schratzenstaller & Franz Sinabell, 2023. "Auswirkungen des Flächenverbrauchs für die Versorgungssicherheit und steuerliche Instrumente zu dessen Eindämmung," WIFO Studies, WIFO, number 71122.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    fiscal zoning; land use; property tax; urban sprawl;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • R14 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics - - - Land Use Patterns
    • R38 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Real Estate Markets, Spatial Production Analysis, and Firm Location - - - Government Policy
    • R51 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Regional Government Analysis - - - Finance in Urban and Rural Economies
    • R52 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Regional Government Analysis - - - Land Use and Other Regulations

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