Center for Policy Research
Property Tax Web Series
Capitalisation of a Recurring Tax on Properties: Evidence from a Local Property Tax Reform
Andreas Økland
November 2021
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Abstract
The housing market is an enticing source of tax revenue for local and national governments. But how does a recurring property tax affect house prices?
This paper utilizes rich micro data to study the introduction of a local property tax in the Norwegian capital of Oslo. The analysis suggests that the new tax at most had a minuscule effect on house prices in the treated area.
The reform was introduced in only one half of the densely populated, homogeneous areas along the municipality border. This variation in tax burden is used to identify the effect on house prices, which can be measured thanks to detailed transaction-level data.
This paper was presented by Andreas Økland on November 5, 2021 as part of the 2021-2022 Syracuse Webinar Series on Property Tax Administration and Design.
This Syracuse-Chicago Webinar Series on Property Tax Administration and Design aims to gather insight and scholarship through domestic and international comparative studies with common threads to help reform and improve property tax administration and design in the U.S. and other countries facing similar problems.
For questions about the webinars, please contact Alyssa Kirk. For questions about this paper, please contact the author or authors.