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The introduction of a new real estate taxes in Italy in 2011 provides a natural experiment, which is useful to test for political budget cycles. The new real estate tax allowed discretion to local governments. This generates a random variation in the distance of municipalities from the following elections when they choose the level of the tax rate. We do find substantial evidence of political budget cycles, with municipalities choosing lower tax rates when close to elections. We observe this budget cycle for smaller municipalities where the tax was more likely to be the single most important issue for the local government. Cities close to elections with large deficits did not set lower rates and so did municipalities with a lower average value of properties. Finally, the political budget cycle is stronger in the South. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the regulations of the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for the capitalization and repair of buildings and some fixed assets. It states that the new rules are applicable to all businesses which produce, purchase, or repair tangible property. It adds that under the regulations, betterments, permament improvements, and restorations of properties should be capitalized.

Abstract Reflecting the Progressive Era's reform agenda Simon Patten (1852-1922) argued that freeing markets from one source of economic rent (by taxing land rent) would merely leave the surplus to be taken by other monopolists and rent extractors (railroads, Wall Street trusts, and basic privatized utilities). To prevent unearned income (economic rent) from adding to the economy's cost of living and doing business, potentially rent-yielding infrastructure should be kept in the public domain as a 'fourth factor of production.' Instead of rentiers making a profit by charging access fees and user fees, the return to public investment should take the form of reducing the economy's overall price structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the impact of homeowners associations (HOAs) on urban local governance in the U.S. The differences in the concepts of private neighborhood and traditional local governments are discussed in the context of public administration philosophy and taxation. A historical overview is presented of American property and business ownership rights and collective decision making in the business world. The idea that HOAs are private business corporations that are situated on common property which makes them look like a public government is discussed.

The article reports on the move of the U.S. Congress to pass the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization and Job Creation Act, which extends higher expensing limits and boosted 100% bonus depreciation. It mentions that the new 100% bonus is applicable to qualified property placed in service after September 8, 2010. It affirms that it applies only to new properties that are not yet used and business-used.

As recent studies in different countries show, tax data offer the opportunity to estimate income or wealth shares for the upper income groups. However, several critical points must be considered in order to avoid misleading conclusions: the interpolation technique used, legal amendments, and tax fraud. In this note we take Spanish wealth tax as a case study to assess the importance of these factors, and compare our results with those obtained by Alvaredo and Saez (2009 ). Although the results of the two analyses are very similar, our approach complements theirs by offering a more precise treatment of the correction of fiscal underassessment and tax fraud in real estate, which is the main asset in Spaniards' portfolios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses a study related to the role of alternative revenue-recycling schemes, as a source of additional welfare from antisprawl policies. It mentions that even when there is uncertainty about the potential benefits of open space preservation, development taxes should still be part of the local tax system. A static model of an open city was developed for the study. It suggests that policymakers should consider additional issues regarding housing submarkets when allocating revenues.

For a sizeable minority of special districts, the form of district governance is not fully determined by state law. Many states allow the groups who instigate incorporation to decide whether a new district is managed by appointed or elected officials. Such discretion raises the question: why do these actors opt for one form of governance over another? This study uses logistic regression to examine these decisions for a full set of cases and subsets divided by whether a special district incorporated in the 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, or 1980s. Drawing upon Burns, it tests whether decisions on district governance were determined by the institutional powers of the individual district or if the economic and political circumstances surrounding that district played some role. The study finds that the powers to tax property and issue general obligation bonds were the most important predictors, but local government revenues and debt were also relevant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Internal Revenue Code provides that alimony will be deductible to the payor and taxable to the payee. Although this treatment may seem contrary to the payee's interest, compared to making the payments non-deductible and nontaxable, it can increase the payee's after-tax income. The payor's deduction will allow larger payments at no after-tax cost increase; if the payee is in a lower tax bracket, then even after paying taxes the payee will have more resources. Because this favorable treatment of alimony does not apply to child support, children of divorce are poorer. Nor does the favorable treatment apply to lump-sum payments, making this option less generous, even though many states have phased down the grant of alimony. Because the definition of alimony requires that it end with the payee's death—to protect the treatment provided for lump sums—the tax system is on the wrong side of the issue of violence against ex-spouses (typically the ex-wife). The article proposes extending to other similar payments the favorable tax treatment now provided for alimony. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Property taxes are a fundamental source of revenue for local governments, constituting 73% of local government tax revenue in the United States. In this article, we empirically investigate the impact of residential property taxes on residential rents. Using data from the American Housing Survey and the National League of Cities, we estimate numerous specifications of a hedonic rent equation with comprehensive unit-level, neighborhood-level and city-level controls. We find that a one standard deviation increase in the property tax rate raises residential rents by roughly $400 annually. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The possible existence of investor clientele groups has received little attention in the real estate finance literature. In this paper we develop a clientele model, which in equilibrium produces a clustering of investors by tax characteristics. Low-tax-bracket investors are concentrated in low-value rental housing that attracts rents which are high in relation to property values. On the other hand, only high-tax-bracket investors will be observed in high-value rental housing, and they charge rents that are low in relation to property values. An empirical model is specified and estimated using a cross section of investors in Australian private rental housing markets. Investor clienteles are detected among property investors, though there is a weak diversification effect indicating that clientele effects may be stronger among single property investors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although progressive government guidelines and knowledge about sustainable housing exist, progress in implementing them in practice has been slow. The perceived costs and the lack of market demand have been identified as the main barriers. A choice of fiscal instruments is essential in sustainable housing policies. This article presents an analysis of economic measures currently used to support sustainable housing in the EU and the accession countries, indicating the areas where policy instruments are either focused or lacking. Based on the country progress reports of the Third European Ministers Conference on Sustainable Housing in Belgium in 2002, the results indicate that environmental taxes and subsidies are used in the EU and the accession countries, but that they have had a low impact on the housing sector. An examination of the developments since 1996 shows that apart from energy initiatives resulting from the Kyoto Protocol, the lack of a strong driving force has kept progress slow. Conclusions are based on the analysis findings – the low impact of taxation on housing, the lack of environmental criteria in the reduced VAT rate and the narrow focus of subsidies. This article argues that enlargement of the EU presents opportunities for sustainable housing in Europe, if the fiscal instruments are enforced by legal means. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents a study that presented estimates of the effects of local domestic property taxes on local house prices, and the effect of local taxes on owner-occupied dwelling prices in Great Britain. Overview of the history of local tax finance in Britain; Theory and data; Results; Estimation of the effects on general housing prices resultant from the switch from rates to poll tax in 1990; Conclusion.

Comments on the impact of local real property taxes and public service expenditures on residential property values in North Carolina. Structure of the urban area; Variance of effective property tax rates; Assumptions on the demand elasticity of housing.

The US 1986 Tax Reform Act (TRA) contains several tax provisions affecting many areas of corporate finance including lease financing. One of the more important provisions is the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) which determines an alternative in addition to the usual tax computation, and consequently results in a new lessee-lessor tax-asymmetry. To investigate the overall impact on the net advantage of leasing (NAL) of both the AMT and the other relevant provisions of the TRA, a leasing model is developed which incorporates these tax provisions. In the context of this leasing model, the following results are derived. When the AMT provision does not apply, the Tax Reform Act (TRA) reduces substantially the net advantage of leasing (NAL) over buying. In contrast, the effect of the AMT symmetry is positive. As a result, the combined effect of the AMT and the other changes in the TRA on the NAL is negligible for property class of assets of the more common length of time (about ten years), but becomes negative for real-property type of assets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the proposals made by the U.S. President Barack Obama Administration for changes in the Internal Revenue Code (IRC). Several changes proposed is related to revisions to the estate and gift tax portion of the code. The administration has proposed to impose consistency as well as reporting requirement on the basis of property transferred both by reason of death or by gift.

Replies to the comments made on the impact of real property taxes and public service expenditures on residential housing. Nonspatial analysis of residential choice; Intra-urban effects of fiscal incidence; Assumptions on the demand elasticity of housing.

The article focuses on reforms of the real property tax. Probably not one person in a thousand understands, the nature of the property tax, or the sociological impact of the property tax. The Constitution as originally adopted, had but three references to taxes: Sections 2, 8 and 9 of Article 1. None of these specifically relate to property taxes as such, and none of them embody the principle of "Ability to pay." If such a principle does indeed exist it arises out of the mythology of the so-called "progressive graduated tax" which had its genesis on February 25, 1913, when the Sixteenth Amendment was ratified. The second, generally unappreciated fact about contemporary property taxes are their dual economic effects. (One good-one bad.) Dual, and diametrically opposed. One effect (good) arises out of that portion of the tax which is levied against the value of the land; the other effect (bad) arises out of that portion, and usually the larger portion, of the tax on the value of the buildings and other improvements made in or on the land.