David C. Lincoln Fellowships for 2001-2002 (Land Lines Article)

Publication Date: January 2002

Inventory ID LLA020106; English

Article

A Study of European Property Taxation Systems

Peter K. Brown
School of the Built Environment
Liverpool John Moores University
Liverpool, England

Moira Hepworth
Policy and Research
Institute of Revenues Rating and Valuation
London, England

The overall aim of the research is to develop a comprehensive English-language reference source regarding the nature, scope and implementation of local property taxation systems in Europe, from an assessment and application viewpoint. In this third and final year of our research we will continue to update the previous years’ work to reflect changes to European taxes, tax rates and other associated changes. We also hope to provide a statistical framework of the significance of the taxes as a means of financing local or other forms of government and the burden that the tax places on the taxpayer.

American Federalism and the Property Tax

David Brunori
Tax Analysts/State Tax Notes
Arlington, Virginia

This project's primary objective is to increase awareness of land taxation on the part of state and local political leaders and policy makers. The highlight of the work will be the presentation of the following theory: "A property tax system based primarily on land values will strengthen American federalism." Without significant reforms to the public finance system, local governments in the United States face a serious threat to their autonomy. The property tax must be strengthened; there are no viable alternatives for raising revenue for local governments. The property tax can be strengthened only through significant reforms, and one of those reforms is an emphasis on taxing land value. If the hypothesis that property taxation must be strengthened as a means of raising revenue is correct, then the potential for increased use of land taxation has never been greater.

Property Tax Reform in New Hampshire: Economic and Land Use Impacts of a Land Value Tax in the Granite State

Richard W. England
Center for Business and Economic Research
Whittemore School of Business and Economics
University of New Hampshire
Durham, New Hampshire

The premise of this project assumes a need to coordinate state and local land use regulations with a state tax on land values if forests and other forms of open space are to be preserved. The study will analyze data on state and local regulation of land use and on the spatial distribution of land cover and uses. The impacts of a revenue-neutral shift from a statewide property tax to a land value tax will be simulated using the REMI regional econometric and policy simulation model. This project is being conducted in partnership with the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests.

Property Taxes in the British Commonwealth

Riël Franzsen
Department of Mercantile Law
University of South Africa
Pretoria, South Africa

William J. McCluskey
Property Studies Group
Applied Management and Computing Division
Lincoln University
Canterbury, New Zealand

The aim of this project is to collect and collate property tax data on 37 of the 54 member states of the British Commonwealth. An analysis of property tax systems in these countries, spread across the globe, should lead to a better understanding of the international use of property taxes. The diversity of countries allows for interesting comparisons as member states differ in terms of size, population, per capita income, stages of economic development, and political, land tenure and legal systems. The availability of data and more detailed information on assessment and collection ‘best practices’ from the more developed member states could benefit less developed jurisdictions in need of assistance and advice.

Land Value Taxation in Asia: Current Status and Future Roles

Yu-Hung Hong
Department of Public Administration and Urban Studies
University of Akron, Ohio
Public Assets Research & Development, Inc. Hudson, Ohio

This project will assess the importance of land value taxation in 12 Asian countries. The goals are to generate comparative analyses of major land and building taxation systems in Asia, to integrate this research with comparative studies on property taxation systems in Europe and Southern Africa conducted by other David C. Lincoln Fellows, and to develop a curriculum for a summer training program on Asian property taxation. A standardized template will guide data collection using three research methods: country surveys, in-depth personal interviews and focus groups.

Property Tax Reform in Indiana: Challenges and Issues

Frank S. Kelly and Jeffrey S. Wuensch
Nexus Group
Indianapolis, Indiana

Vast changes to Indiana's real and personal property assessment systems are scheduled to take effect in 2002. In the third year of our fellowship project, we will focus more on educational opportunities for the assessment community. In particular, this fellowship will be used in association with the Indiana Assessment Academy, a newly created nonprofit organization whose mission is to "... provide ongoing educational opportunities to the Indiana assessment community through specifically targeted courses, seminars, workshops and research projects."

Land Taxes and Revenue Needs as Communities Grow and Decline: Evidence from New Zealand

Suzi Kerr and Dave Maré
Motu Economic and Public Policy Research
Wellington, New Zealand

In 1998, 56 percent of New Zealand local government revenue came from property taxes. What drives long-term changes in the property/land tax base? How responsive is land tax revenue to external shocks? How does a ‘property tax’ empirically differ from a ‘land tax’ in terms of the variability of the tax base? We will combine economic analysis based on an extremely rich dataset with valuation techniques to identify causes and levels of fiscal stress and study the responses of local governments. Based on these empirical results we will assess how reliant local government should be on property and land taxes.

Preparing for Land Value Taxation in Britain

Anthony James Vickers
Henry George Foundation of Great Britain
London, England

The first-ever land valuation of part of a major British city for taxation purposes will be the central task of this third and final stage of the project. Working with Liverpool City Council, a leading public finance lawyer, a commercial valuer and a spatial data analyst, Vickers will complete a 'blueprint' for governments in Britain wishing to implement LVT. The use of land value maps in public education forms a large part of the project.