Jeffrey Owens, OECD

Start Date

23-11-1988 11:00 AM

End Date

23-11-1988 12:30 PM

Description

The role of taxes on immovable property in fin.ancing lower levels of government is being reviewed in many of the 24 Member countries of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development COECD). All of the Mediterrean countries are now committed to placing a greater reliance on property taxes, though a few countries. notably the United Kingdom, intend to phase out domestic property taxes. In most countries with these taxes a major effort has been made to improve their administration. One reason for this upsurge of interest is that the relationship between central, regional and local governments is changing. Some governments are committed to decentralising expenditure and revenue functions; many countries have recently implemented (e.g., Belgium, Greece, Portugal and Spain) major reforms to the way in which local government is financed. The purpose of this paper is to provide an international perspective to the Barcelona discussions on the property tax and a common framework for the discussions. Its main focus is on two issues. The first is.the different ways in which land and buildings are taxed and the need for more coordination. The second issue is the very broad question of how governments can improve taxpayers perception of property and other taxes by improving the "service" that the tax administration provides to the taxpayer. Part A provides an overview of trends in financing government. Part B looks at recent changes in the use made of property taxes; Part C examines first the issue of the different taxes on immovable property and the need for a more coordinated approach. It then looks at how governments have tried to improve taxpayers perceptions of the property tax. A concluding section sets out some questions which could be addressed during the discussions. Annex 1 sets out the statistical tables and Annex 2 provides a selective bibliography.

Publication Date

November 1988

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Nov 23rd, 11:00 AM Nov 23rd, 12:30 PM

Property taxes: Emerging issues and changing perspectives

The role of taxes on immovable property in fin.ancing lower levels of government is being reviewed in many of the 24 Member countries of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development COECD). All of the Mediterrean countries are now committed to placing a greater reliance on property taxes, though a few countries. notably the United Kingdom, intend to phase out domestic property taxes. In most countries with these taxes a major effort has been made to improve their administration. One reason for this upsurge of interest is that the relationship between central, regional and local governments is changing. Some governments are committed to decentralising expenditure and revenue functions; many countries have recently implemented (e.g., Belgium, Greece, Portugal and Spain) major reforms to the way in which local government is financed. The purpose of this paper is to provide an international perspective to the Barcelona discussions on the property tax and a common framework for the discussions. Its main focus is on two issues. The first is.the different ways in which land and buildings are taxed and the need for more coordination. The second issue is the very broad question of how governments can improve taxpayers perception of property and other taxes by improving the "service" that the tax administration provides to the taxpayer. Part A provides an overview of trends in financing government. Part B looks at recent changes in the use made of property taxes; Part C examines first the issue of the different taxes on immovable property and the need for a more coordinated approach. It then looks at how governments have tried to improve taxpayers perceptions of the property tax. A concluding section sets out some questions which could be addressed during the discussions. Annex 1 sets out the statistical tables and Annex 2 provides a selective bibliography.