TAXATION OF AGRICULTURAL AND FOREST LAND: COMPARATIVE PERSPECTIVE AND PRACTICE IN SERBIA
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5937/ekoPolj1602713VKeywords:
agricultural land, forest land, property tax, property assessment, land valuation.Abstract
This paper discusses contradiction between theoretical preferences for using land as an object of taxation and modest revenues collected through property taxes imposed on agricultural and forest land. The paper starts with a summary of specifcities of the land as an object of the property tax; then, classical economists preferences for the wide use of the land tax are confronted with the comparative research fnding numerous examples of exemptions and favorable treatment enjoyed by agricultural and forest land. The second part of the paper builds on a database of average square meter prices of agricultural and forest land determined by local governments for fscal years 2014 and 2015. The quantitative research provides evidences of inconsistency and volatility of land value assessments at signifcantly higher level than we fnd for structures, indicating that key principles of tax equity are undermined, placing disproportionately high burden on certain categories of land owners.
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References
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2. Anderson, J., Bunch, H. (1989): Agricultural Property Tax Relief: Tax Credits, Tax Rates, and Land Values, Land Economics vol. 65, no. 1, University of Wisconsin Press, Wisconsin, USA.
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6. Bell, M., Bowman, J., German, J. (2009): The Assessment Requirements for a Separate Tax on Land, in Land Value Taxation: Theory, Evidence, and Practice, ch. no 8, pp. 171– 194, Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, Cambridge, USA.
7. Brown, H. (1917): The Ethics of Land-Value Taxation, Journal of Political Economy, vol. 25, no. 5, pp. 464-492, The University of Chicago Press, Chicago, USA.
8. Cvjetković, C., Veselinović, J., Nikolić, I. (2015): Tax Treatement of Farmers in the Republic of Serbia, Economics of Agriculture 3/2015, Vol. 62, pp. 737-749, IEP, Belgrade, Serbia.
9. Cohen, J., Coughlin, C. (2005): An Introduction to Two-Rate Taxation of Land and Buildings, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis Review, May/June 2005, vol. 87, no. 3, pp. 359-74, Saint Louis, USA.
10. England, R. (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, vol. 79, no. 1, pp. 38-43, University of Wisconsin Press, Wisconsin, USA.
11. George, H. (1935): Progress and Poverty, Robert Schalkenbach Foundation, NewYork, USA.
12. Hollander, J. (1895): The Concept of Marginal Rent, The Quarterly Journal of Economics, vol. 9, no. 2, pp. 175-187, Oxford, United Kingdom.
13. Kahn, M. (2001): Agricultural taxation in developing countries: a survey of issues and policy, Agricultural Economics, vol. 24, pp. 315-328, Elsevier, Amsterdam, Netherlands.
14. McCluskey, W., Bell, M. (2008): Rental Value versus Capital Value: Alternative Bases for the Property Tax, International Studies Program Working Paper 08-18, Andrew Young School of Political Studies, Atlanta, USA.
15. Offcial Gazette of the Republic of Serbia, the Law on Property Taxes, no. 26/2001, 80/2002, 135/2004, 61/2007, 5/2009, 78/2011, 47/2013 and 68/2014.
16. Rosen, H., Gayer, T. (2008): Public Finance, McGraw-Hill/Irwin, New York, USA.
17. Skinner, J. (1991): If agricultural land taxation is so effcient, why is it so rarely used?, the World Bank economic review, vol. 5, no. 1 (January 1991), pp. 113-133, Washington, DC, USA.
18. Slack, E., R. Bird (2014): The Political Economy of Property Tax Reform, OECD Working Papers on Fiscal Federalism, no. 18, OECD Publishing, Paris, France (available at http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/5jz5pzvzv6r7-en).
19. Tiits, T. (2008): Land Taxation Reforms in Estonia, in Roy Bahl, ed., Making Property Tax Work, chapter no. 14, pp. 395-410, Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, Cambridge, USA2008.
20. United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UNHABITAT) (2013): Property Tax Regimes in Europe, Nairobi, Kenya.
21. Youngman, J. (2006): Legal Issues in Property Valuation and Taxation: Cases and Materials, Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, Cambridge, USA.
2. Anderson, J., Bunch, H. (1989): Agricultural Property Tax Relief: Tax Credits, Tax Rates, and Land Values, Land Economics vol. 65, no. 1, University of Wisconsin Press, Wisconsin, USA.
3. Almy, R. (2014): Valuation and Assessment of Immovable Property, OECD Working Papers on Fiscal Federalism, No. 19, OECD Publishing, Paris, France, (available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/5jz5pzvr28hk-en).
4. Arsić, M., Ranđelović, S., Bućić, A., Vasiljević, D. (2012): Reforme poreza na imovinu u Srbiji: Rezultati i perspektive, Fondacija za razvoj ekonomske nauke, Beograd, Srbija.
5. Begović, B., Bisić, M., Ilić-Popov, G., Mijatović, B., Popović, D. (2004): Reforma poreskog sistema (2), Centar za liberalno-demokratske studije, Beograd, Srbija.
6. Bell, M., Bowman, J., German, J. (2009): The Assessment Requirements for a Separate Tax on Land, in Land Value Taxation: Theory, Evidence, and Practice, ch. no 8, pp. 171– 194, Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, Cambridge, USA.
7. Brown, H. (1917): The Ethics of Land-Value Taxation, Journal of Political Economy, vol. 25, no. 5, pp. 464-492, The University of Chicago Press, Chicago, USA.
8. Cvjetković, C., Veselinović, J., Nikolić, I. (2015): Tax Treatement of Farmers in the Republic of Serbia, Economics of Agriculture 3/2015, Vol. 62, pp. 737-749, IEP, Belgrade, Serbia.
9. Cohen, J., Coughlin, C. (2005): An Introduction to Two-Rate Taxation of Land and Buildings, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis Review, May/June 2005, vol. 87, no. 3, pp. 359-74, Saint Louis, USA.
10. England, R. (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, vol. 79, no. 1, pp. 38-43, University of Wisconsin Press, Wisconsin, USA.
11. George, H. (1935): Progress and Poverty, Robert Schalkenbach Foundation, NewYork, USA.
12. Hollander, J. (1895): The Concept of Marginal Rent, The Quarterly Journal of Economics, vol. 9, no. 2, pp. 175-187, Oxford, United Kingdom.
13. Kahn, M. (2001): Agricultural taxation in developing countries: a survey of issues and policy, Agricultural Economics, vol. 24, pp. 315-328, Elsevier, Amsterdam, Netherlands.
14. McCluskey, W., Bell, M. (2008): Rental Value versus Capital Value: Alternative Bases for the Property Tax, International Studies Program Working Paper 08-18, Andrew Young School of Political Studies, Atlanta, USA.
15. Offcial Gazette of the Republic of Serbia, the Law on Property Taxes, no. 26/2001, 80/2002, 135/2004, 61/2007, 5/2009, 78/2011, 47/2013 and 68/2014.
16. Rosen, H., Gayer, T. (2008): Public Finance, McGraw-Hill/Irwin, New York, USA.
17. Skinner, J. (1991): If agricultural land taxation is so effcient, why is it so rarely used?, the World Bank economic review, vol. 5, no. 1 (January 1991), pp. 113-133, Washington, DC, USA.
18. Slack, E., R. Bird (2014): The Political Economy of Property Tax Reform, OECD Working Papers on Fiscal Federalism, no. 18, OECD Publishing, Paris, France (available at http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/5jz5pzvzv6r7-en).
19. Tiits, T. (2008): Land Taxation Reforms in Estonia, in Roy Bahl, ed., Making Property Tax Work, chapter no. 14, pp. 395-410, Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, Cambridge, USA2008.
20. United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UNHABITAT) (2013): Property Tax Regimes in Europe, Nairobi, Kenya.
21. Youngman, J. (2006): Legal Issues in Property Valuation and Taxation: Cases and Materials, Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, Cambridge, USA.
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Published
2016-04-30
How to Cite
Vasiljević, D. (2016). TAXATION OF AGRICULTURAL AND FOREST LAND: COMPARATIVE PERSPECTIVE AND PRACTICE IN SERBIA. Ekonomika Poljoprivrede, 63(2), 713–726. https://doi.org/10.5937/ekoPolj1602713V
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Review articles
