1. Channeling Urban (Land) Rent Back into the Public Sector through Taxation
- Author:
- Bircan Polat
- Publication Date:
- 11-2019
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Turkish Economic and Social Studies Foundation (TESEV)
- Abstract:
- Following the March 31, 2019 local elections, the indebtedness of local governments has once again emerged as a subject of public debate in Turkey. Local government expenditures took center stage in these debates, yet much less attention has been paid to potential sources of revenue for local governments. Generation of internal sources of municipal revenue is no less important than the issue of expenditures as it pertains to the relative financial independence of municipalities from the central government. Among potential sources of municipal revenue, a significant one is taxation on urban (land) rent which occurs as a result of a few distinct processes: transformation of agricultural land into urban land due to population increase, migration, industrialization; zoning change that renders the property more valuable due to a number of potential factors such as greater proximity to parks, attractions, or highway systems.
- Topic:
- Governance, Economy, Tax Systems, Public Sector, and Urban
- Political Geography:
- Turkey and Middle East