International evidence review: economic impacts and incidence of housing taxation

Project Summary:

Housing taxation varies considerably across OECD countries in terms of key concepts such as tax neutrality, tenure neutrality and equity (horizontal and vertical equity). In the UK, there are transactions taxes like stamp duty, recurring taxes like council tax, investment taxes like capital gains tax, and wider taxes such as inheritance tax. The UK does not have a land value tax but other states and countries do. The purpose of this project is to review the different forms of taxation in terms of their effects on economic efficiency, house prices and wealth/income distribution. The goal is to assess the experience of other countries to identify what may be replicable in the UK.

Timeline: January 2018 – September 2018

Team: Jeff Matsu (Co-I), Barry Naisbitt (Co-I) and Dr Chris Foye (KE)

Theme: Economy

View the final report:

Co-author, Jeffrey Matsu, highlights the key findings in this short video: