Financial Law Review (Mar 2022)

Modified Area-based System in Czech Republic

  • Sandra Papavasilevská

DOI
https://doi.org/10.4467/22996834FLR.22.012.15662
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 25 (1), no. 2022
pp. 197 – 206

Abstract

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Tax system in the Czech Republic and offers some specific suggestions for reform. In the long term, their taxation could be maintained. Many politicians not only in the Czech Republic believe that a higher property tax on real estate investments can solve the housing crisis. There are several examples showing that such a solution does not lead to the desired result. In many states, such a tax increase solved a certain "housing crisis". Such a solution is at all sensible and will ultimately not only disadvantage economically the socially weaker, who do not have the resources to get their own place. On the other hand, the overall taxation of investment housing could contribute to increasing revenues of municipal budgets without changing the budgetary allocation of taxes. The inclusion of elements of elementary equality and work with so-called local coefficients, possibly combined with the categorisation of immovable property as established in the Land Registry, appears to be a meaningful key to the solution. On the basis of these two groups or categories, differential taxation can be achieved for a wide range of properties without creating room for discussion about what is and is not an investment apartment [OECD 2010]. But there are two weaknesses in dealing with this, namely policy changes, where the increase in the coefficient is unpopular within local authorities, and that it will be quite different in this area. The area-based property tax has been gaining influence in developing and transitional countries around the world. This report first examines how the area-based tax is administered in thirty-eight countries according to statutes. Area-based assessment is more commonly used in rural areas than urban areas, for land than buildings, and with few adjustments. Over half the countries allow some local control [Fischel 2001: 17].

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