The tax on immovable property has been characterized as probably the most unpopular among tax instruments, in part because it is salient and hard to avoid. But economists continue to emphasize the virtues of the property tax owing to its relatively low efficieny costs, benign impact on growth, and high score on fairness. It is, therefore, generally considered to be underutilized in most countries. This paper takes stock of the arguments for using real property taxation, and presents an updated data-set for high-and middle income countries to illustrate its use. It also reflects the renewed and widespread interest in property tax reform globally, and discusses the many policy and administrative issues that must be carefully considered as prerequisites for successful property tax reform.

In A Good Tax, tax expert Joan Youngman skillfully considers how to improve the operation of the property tax and supply the information that is often missing in public debate. She analyzes the legal, administrative, and political challenges to the property tax in the United States and offers recommendations for its improvement. The book is accessibly written for policy analysts and public officials who are dealing with specific property tax issues and for those concerned with property tax issues in general.

Taxes! Boring and irritating, right? Perhaps. But if you want to succeed in real estate, your tax strategy will play a HUGE role in how fast you grow. A great tax strategy can save you thousands of dollars a year - and a bad strategy could land you in legal trouble. That's why BiggerPockets is excited to introduce its newest book, The Book on Tax Strategies for the Savvy Real Estate Investor! To help you deduct more, invest smarter, and pay far less to the IRS!

Survey of taxes on immovable property. Reviews the major policy issues raised in the taxation of land and buildings and compares the main provision of property tax systems in 15 OECD Member countries.

Emerging Paradigms in Urban Mobility: Planning, Finance and Implementation explains the types of new urban mobility planning paradigms that are emerging throughout the world, along with their potential to transform the transportation landscape. As half of the world's 7 billion people now live in cities, thus causing severe road congestion, increased air pollution, energy insecurity and sustainability problems in cities and the planet itself, this book presents new paradigms that are emerging to address these problems, along with other topics of note, including economic efficiency, health, the well-being of cities and their residents, urban mobility transformations, and the role of social media. In addition, the book looks at Integrated Corridor Management and how it improves the people-moving performance of multi-modal transport systems in high demand urban corridors and how countries balance the mobility benefits of motorcycles with the environmental and safety threats they pose. - Provides previously unpublished research on new approaches to integrating governance, the changing role of IT, and shared mobility initiatives - Links transportation and land use, climate change, and poverty reduction and gender, going well beyond the technical issues of transport planning - Highlights successful factors that have worked and how they can be tailored to different contexts - Includes learning aids, such as case studies, text boxes and chapter openers and summaries

The land value tax is the focus of this Policy Focus Report, Assessing the Theory and Practice of Land Value Taxation. A concept dating back to Henry George, the land value tax is a variant of the property tax that imposes a higher tax rate on land than on improvements, or taxes only the land value. Many other types of changes in property tax policy, such as assessment freezes or limitations, have undesirable side effects, including unequal treatment of similarly situated taxpayers and distortion of economic incentives. The land value tax can enhance both the fairness and the efficiency of property tax collection, with few undesirable effects; land is effectively in fixed supply, so an increase in the tax rate on land value will raise revenue without distorting the incentives for owners to invest in and use their land. A land value tax has also been seen as a way to combat urban sprawl by encouraging density and infill development. Authors Richard F. Dye and Richard W. England examine the experience of those who have implemented the land value tax -- more than 30 countries around the world, and in the United States, several municipalities dating back to 1913, when the Pennsylvania legislature permitted Pittsburgh and Scranton to tax land values at a higher rate than building values. A 1951 statute gave smaller Pennsylvania cities the same option to enact a two-rate property tax, a variation of the land value tax. About 15 communities currently use this type of tax program, while others tried and rescinded it. Hawaii also has experience with two-rate taxation, and Virginia and Connecticut have authorized municipalities to choose a two-rate property tax. The land value tax has been subjected to studies comparing jurisdictions with and without it, and to legal challenges. A land value tax also raises administrative issues, particularly in the area of property tax assessments. Land value taxation is an attractive alternative to the traditional property tax, especially to much more problematic types of property tax measures such as assessment limitations, the authors conclude. A land value tax is best implemented if local officials use best assessing practices to keep land and improvement values up to date; phase in dual tax rates over several years; and include a tax credit feature in those communities where land-rich but income-poor citizens might suffer from land value taxation.