2016/06/01 by Wallace E. Oates, William A. Fischel · 52 citations
Economics, Econometrics and Finance · Social Sciences · #Ad valorem tax #Capital (architecture) #Double taxation #Economics #Fiscal Policy and Economic Growth #Housing Market and Economics #Indirect tax #Local Government Finance and Decentralization #Local property #Monetary economics #Property tax #Public economics #Tax reform #Value-added tax
paper · doi:10.1086/ntj44014529
published in National Tax Journal 69(2), 415-433 (University of Chicago Press)
openalex publication_date 2016/06/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/30
Local property taxes are commonly regarded as regressive, but the two dominant (and competing) views of the property tax would disagree. Under the capital-tax view, the national element of the tax is a tax on real estate capital, which makes it somewhat inefficient but progressive, given the distribution of ownership of real property. Under the benefit view, the local component of the property tax is not really a tax but a fee for service. We describe evidence that the capital-tax view applies in relatively undeveloped areas, while the benefit view is more relevant in developed urban areas.