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Welfare effects of property taxation

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  • Löffler, Max
  • Siegloch, Sebastian

Abstract

We analyze the welfare implications of property taxation. Using a sufficient statistics approach, we show that the tax incidence depends on how housing prices, labor and other types of incomes as well as public services respond to property tax changes. Empirically, we exploit the German institutional setting with 5,200 municipal tax reforms for identification. We find that higher taxes are fully passed on to rental prices after three years. The pass-through is lower when housing supply is inelastic. Combining reduced form estimates with our theoretical framework, we simulate the welfare effects of property taxes and show that they are regressive.

Suggested Citation

  • Löffler, Max & Siegloch, Sebastian, 2021. "Welfare effects of property taxation," ZEW Discussion Papers 21-026, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:zewdip:21026
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    Cited by:

    1. Blesse, Sebastian & Doerrenberg, Philipp & Rauch, Anna, 2019. "Higher taxes on less elastic goods? Evidence from German municipalities," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 165-186.
    2. Blesse, Sebastian & Heinemann, Friedrich & Nover, Justus, 2022. "Bundesländerindex Familienunternehmen: Standortfaktoren innerhalb Deutschlands im Vergleich," Studien, Stiftung Familienunternehmen / Foundation for Family Businesses, number 264906, May.
    3. Geschwind, Stephan & Roesel, Felix, 2022. "Taxation under direct democracy," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 200(C), pages 536-554.
    4. Melinda Fremerey & Andreas Lichter & Max Löffler, 2022. "Fiscal and Economic Effects of Local Austerity," CESifo Working Paper Series 9800, CESifo.
    5. Rainald Borck & Jun Oshiro & Yasuhiro Sato, 2022. "Property tax competition: A quantitative assessment," CEPA Discussion Papers 52, Center for Economic Policy Analysis.
    6. Kuypers, Sarah & Figari, Francesco & Verbist, Gerlinde, 2024. "Vertical and horizontal equity of wealth taxes: An assessment from a joint income-wealth perspective," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 234(C).
    7. Tomomi MIYAZAKI & Motohiro SATO, 2018. "Property Tax and Land Use: Evidence from the 1990s reforms in Japan," Discussion papers 18072, Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI).
    8. Miyazaki, Tomomi & Sato, Motohiro, 2022. "Property tax and farmland use in urban areas: Evidence from the reform in the early 1990s in Japan," Journal of the Japanese and International Economies, Elsevier, vol. 63(C).
    9. Jörg Paetzold & Markus Tiefenbacher, 2018. "Distributional and revenue effects of a tax shift from labor to property," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 25(5), pages 1215-1251, October.
    10. Marius Brülhart & Jayson Danton & Raphaël Parchet & Jörg Schläpfer, 2025. "Who Bears the Burden of Local Taxes?," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 17(1), pages 464-505, February.
    11. Sebastian Siegloch & Nils Wehrhöfer & Tobias Etzel, 2022. "Spillover, Efficiency and Equity Effects of Regional Firm Subsidies," ECONtribute Discussion Papers Series 210, University of Bonn and University of Cologne, Germany.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    property taxation; welfare; tax incidence; local labor markets; rental housing;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H22 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Incidence
    • H41 - Public Economics - - Publicly Provided Goods - - - Public Goods
    • H71 - Public Economics - - State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations - - - State and Local Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue
    • R13 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics - - - General Equilibrium and Welfare Economic Analysis of Regional Economies
    • R31 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Real Estate Markets, Spatial Production Analysis, and Firm Location - - - Housing Supply and Markets
    • R38 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Real Estate Markets, Spatial Production Analysis, and Firm Location - - - Government Policy

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