Training The Trainers Program
Public Finance and Property Taxation
August 1-12
Shenzhen, China
MODULE B: PROPERTY TAXATION
Objectives: The main objective of this one-week training module is to facilitate in-depth discussions with Chinese scholars on theoretical and practical ideas related to taxation on land and buildings. Topics covered by the course include a general introduction to the strengths and weaknesses of the property tax as a revenue source for local governments, analyzing issues from both efficiency and equity perspectives. The course will also examine the role of the central and local governments in designing and implementing property tax reform and present criteria for evaluating varied taxes and tax systems.
The course has six sections:[1]
I: Concepts and Contexts
II: Setting the Property Tax Rate
III: Defining the Property Tax Base
IV: Property Tax Administration
V: Policy Analysis of the Property Tax
VI: Property Appraisal for Tax Purposes
I. CONCEPTS AND CONTEXTS
8:30-10:00 Why Property Tax? Introduction and Overview
Dr. Gary Cornia, Marriott School of Management, Brigham Young University
Readings:
Bahl, Roy. 2004. (Chinese Edition) Land Taxes versus Property Taxes in Developing and Transition Countries. Land Value Taxation: Can It and Will It Work Today? Dick Netzer, ed. Cambridge, MA: Lincoln Institute of Land Policy.
Oates, Wallace E. 2001. Property Taxation and Local Government Finance: An Overview and Some Reflections. Property Taxation and Local Government Finance: Essays in Honor of C. Lowell Harriss. Wallace E. Oates, ed. Cambridge, MA: Lincoln Institute of Land Policy.
10:00-10:15 Break
10:15-11:45 Why Property Tax? Introduction and Overview (Continued)
Dr. Gary Cornia, Marriott School of Management, Brigham Young University
Reading:
Litvack, Jennie, Junaid Ahmad, and Richard Bird. 1998. Rethinking Decentralization in Developing Countries. World Bank Sector Studies Series 21491, Washington, D.C.: The World Bank. http://www-wds.worldbank.org/servlet/WDS_IBank_Servlet?pcont=details&eid=000094946_00121605341030
11:45-14:00 Lunch
14:00-15:30 Property Tax System in the United States
Dr. Yu Hung Hong, Lincoln Institute of Land Policy
Readings:
Ladd, Helen F. 1998. Theoretical Controversies: Land and Property Taxation. Local Government Tax and Land Use Policies in the United States: Understanding the Links, Helen. F. Ladd, ed. Cheltenham, UK and Northhampton: Edward Elgar and Cambridge, MA: Lincoln Institute of Land Policy.
Wallis, John Joseph. 2001. A History of the Property Tax in America. Property Taxation and Local Government Finance: Essays in Honor of C. Lowell Harriss. Wallace. E. Oates, ed. Cambridge, MA: Lincoln Institute of Land Policy.
15:30-15:45 Break
15:45-17:15 Property Taxation Under Public Leasehold Systems
Dr. Yu Hung Hong, Lincoln Institute of Land Policy
Readings:
Hong, Yu Hung and Guoping Huang. Forthcoming. Taxing Publicly Owned Land In China: A Paradox? Trade and Finance Economics (July 2005) Beijing, China: Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (In Chinese)
Hong, Yu Hung. 2003. Policy Dilemma of Capturing Land Value Under the Hong Kong Public Leasehold System. Leasing Public Land: Policy Debates and International Experiences, Steven C. Bourassa and Yu-Hung Hong, eds. Cambridge, MA: Lincoln Institute of Land Policy.
17:15 End of Day 1
II. SETTING THE PROPERTY TAX RATE
8:30-10:00 Methods of Rate Setting
Dr. Gary Cornia, Marriott School of Management, Brigham Young University
10:00 -10:15 Break
10:15-11:45 Two-Rate Taxation of Land and Buildings
Dr. Gary Cornia, Marriott School of Management, Brigham Young University
Readings:
England, Richard W. 2003. State and Local Impacts of a Revenue-Neutral Shift from a Uniform Property to a Land Value Tax: Results of a Simulation Study. Land Economics 79 (1): 38-43.
Oates, Wallace E. and Robert Schwab. 1998. The Pittsburgh Experience with Land-Value Taxation. Local Government Tax and Land Use Policies in the United States: Understanding the Links, H. F. Ladd, ed. Cheltenham, UK and Northhampton: Edward Elgar and Cambridge, MA: Lincoln Institute of Land Policy,
11:45-14:00 Lunch
III. DEFINING THE PROPERTY TAX BASE
14:00-15:30 Issues of Defining the Tax Base
Dr. Gary Cornia, Marriott School of Management, Brigham Young University
Reading:
Bahl, Roy W., and Johannes F. Linn. Property Tax Systems: Practice and Performance. 1992. Urban Public Finance In Developing Countries, R.W. Bahl and J. Linn. eds. Washington, D.C.: World Bank and Oxford University Press. http://www-wds.worldbank.org/servlet/WDS_IBank_Servlet?pcont=details&eid=000178830_98101911073519
15:30-15:45 Break
15:45-17:15 Tax Relief and Exemptions
Dr. Gary Cornia, Marriott School of Management, Brigham Young University
Reading:
Duncombe, William, and John Yinger. 2001. Alternative Paths to Property Tax Relief. Property Taxation and Local Government Finance: Essays in Honor of C. Lowell Harriss, W. E. Oates, ed. Cambridge, MA: Lincoln Institute of Land Policy.
17:15 End of Day 2
IV: PROPERTY TAX ADMINISTRATION
8:30-10:00 Normative Criteria for Evaluating the Property Tax
Dr. Gary Cornia, Marriott School of Management, Brigham Young University
10:00-10:15 Break
10:15-11:45 Central-Local Relations in Property Tax Administration
Dr. Gary Cornia, Marriott School of Management, Brigham Young University
Readings:
Cornia, Gary, with Philip Bryson. 2003. Moral Hazard in Property Tax Administration: A Comparative Analysis of the Czech and Slovak Republics. Comparative Economic Studies 45: 44-62.
Oates, Wallace. 1999. An Essay on Fiscal Federalism. Journal of Economic Literature Vol. XXXVII (September 1999): 1120-1149.
11.45-14:00 Lunch
14:00-15:30 Data Management and Tax Collection
Dr. Gary Cornia, Marriott School of Management, Brigham Young University
15:30-15:45 Break
V: POLICY ANALYSIS OF THE PROPERTY TAX
15:45-17:15 Impacts of Property Taxation on Economic Development
Dr. Yu Hung Hong, Lincoln Institute of Land Policy
Readings:
Hong, Yu-Hung. 2005. What If a Uniform Property Tax were Imposed on Industries in China? An Input-Output Analysis. Lincoln Institute of Land Policy Working Paper. (Under review by Journal of Property Tax Assessment and Administration).
Oates, Wallace E. 2005. Property Taxation and Local Public Spending: The Renter Effect. Journal of Urban Economics 57 (2005): 419-431.
17:15 End of Day 3
8:30-10:00 Property Tax Reform Policy in Transition Economies
Dr. Yu Hung Hong, Lincoln Institute of Land Policy
Readings
Bird, Richard M. and Enid Slack. 2002. Land and Property Taxation Around the World: A Review. Journal of Property Tax Assessment & Administration 7 (3): 31-80.
Cornia, Gary with Kurt Zorn and Jean Tesche. 2003. The Feasibility of A Property Tax in Bodnia-Herzegovina. Public Budgeting and Finance [need volume and page no. here]
Paugam, Anne. 1999. Ad Valorem Property Taxation and Transition Economies. ECSIN Working Paper No. 9, Infrastructure Unit, Europe and Central Asia Region. Washington, D. C.: The World Bank. http://www-wds.worldbank.org/servlet/WDS_IBank_Servlet?pcont=details&eid=000090341_20041102093909
10:00-10:15 Break
10:15-11:45 Property Tax Reform Policy in Transition Economies (continued)
Dr. Yu Hung Hong, Lincoln Institute of Land Policy
Readings:
Dillinger, William. 1991. Urban property tax reform: guidelines and recommendations. World Bank Working paper WPS710. Infrastructure and Urban Development Department. Washington, D.C.: The World Bank. http://www-wds.worldbank.org/servlet/WDS_IBank_Servlet?pcont=details&eid=000009265_3961001075720
Malme, Jane H. and Joan M. Youngman. 2001. The Development of Property Taxation in Economies in Transaction: Case Studies from Central and Eastern Europe. Washington, D.C.: The World Bank.
http://www-wds.worldbank.org/servlet/WDS_IBank_Servlet?pcont=details&eid=000094946_02032104041341
11:45-14:00 Lunch
14:00-15:30 Alternatives to Property Taxation！Other Taxes
Dr. Yu Hung Hong, Lincoln Institute of Land Policy
Readings
Bahl, Roy W. and Jonannes F. Linn. 1992. Other Urban Taxes. Urban Public Finance In Developing Countries, R.W. Bahl and J. Linn. eds. Washington, D.C.: The World Bank and Oxford University Press. http://www-wds.worldbank.org/servlet/WDS_IBank_Servlet?pcont=details&eid=000178830_98101911073519
McGuire, Therese J. 2001. Alternatives to Property Taxation for Local Government. Property Taxation and Local Government Finance: Essays in Honor of C. Lowell Harriss. Wallace. E. Oates, ed. Cambridge, MA: Lincoln Institute of Land Policy.
15:30-15:45 Break
15:45-17:15 Alternatives to Property Taxation！Non-Tax Mechanisms
Dr. Yu Hung Hong, Lincoln Institute of Land Policy
Readings:
Doebele, William. 2002. Keynote Speech. Presented at the Workshop on Land Readjustment held at the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, March 21-22, 2002.
Hong, Yu Hung and Steven C. Bourassa. 2003. Rethinking Public Leasehold. Leasing Public Land: Policy Debates and International Experiences, Steven C. Bourassa and Yu-Hung Hong, eds. Cambridge, MA: Lincoln Institute of Land Policy.
17:15 End of Day 4
VI: PROPERTY APPRAISAL FOR TAX PURPOSES
8:30-10:00 Market-Based Approaches to Valuing the Base
Dr. Yu Hung Hong, Lincoln Institute of Land Policy
Reading:
Eckert, Joseph K., Robert J. Gloudemans and Richard R. Almy. 1990. Property Appraisal and Assessment Administration. Chicago, Illinois: International Association of Assessing Officers.
10:00-10:15 Break
10:15-11:45 Assessing Leasehold Value: Does This Require Special Treatments?
Dr. Yu Hung Hong, Lincoln Institute of Land Policy
Reading:
Eckert, Joseph K., Robert J. Gloudemans and Richard R. Almy. 1990. Property Appraisal and Assessment Administration. Chicago, Illinois: International Association of Assessing Officers.
11:45-14:00 Lunch
14:00-15:30 Property Tax Appraisal in Transition and Developing Countries
Dr. Yu Hung Hong, Lincoln Institute of Land Policy
Reading:
Bell, Michael E., and John H. Bowman with Lindsey C. Clark. 2005. Valuing Land for Tax Purposes in Traditional Tribal Areas of South Africa Where There Is No Land Market. Lincoln Institute of Land Policy Working Paper WP05MB1. Cambridge, MA: Lincoln Institute of Land Policy. http://www.lincolninst.edu/pubs/pub-detail.asp?id=1033
15:30-15:45 Break
15:45-17:15 Summary and Discussion
Dr. Yu Hung Hong, Lincoln Institute of Land Policy
17:15 Adjourn
[1] This course structure is partly based on the outline of a forthcoming book！A Primer On the Property Tax！edited by Professors Gary Cornia, William McCluskey and Lawrence Walters and co-published by the World Bank, Blackwell and the RICS.
