The incidence of non-domestic property taxes

Damania, Dicky (1986) The incidence of non-domestic property taxes. PhD thesis, University of Glasgow.

Abstract

The thesis endeavours to infer the effective incidence of the non-domestic property tax in the UK. Chapter 1 briefly describes the history of the property tax and the existing rating system. In addition, the chapter examines the formal incidence of the tax and its purported merits and deficiencies. Chapter 2 investigates the neoclassical theory of property tax incidence and focuses on the development of general equilibrium incidence analysis. In contrast, Chapter 3 describes the Post-Keynesian theory of tax incidence and suggests an amendment to a model which is found to yield theoretically inconsistent results. Chapter 4 reviews the existing empirical work on the impact of the non-domestic property tax in the UK. It is argued that most of these studies are based on theoretically inconsistent models, and hence do little to dispel doubts about the incidence of the tax. In an attempt to remedy this deficiency, Chapter 5 develops a theoretical general equilibrium model, which is used to infer the incidence of the non-domestic property tax. The results suggest that much of the non-domestic property tax burden is borne by firms. However, general equilibrium incidence estimates are based on a plethora of stringent assumptions which are merely imposed on the data rather than statistically tested. It would therefore seem useful to use an alternative procedure to estimate the impact of the non-domestic property tax. Chapter 6 thus examines the various quantitative techniques employed in public finance to infer the incidence of taxes. It is suggested that econometric procedures, while not perfect, provide a method for discriminating between competing theories and deriving data coherent estimates of tax incidence. Chapter 7 develops an econometric model which is used to infer the degree of short run property tax shifting. The investigation is based on a theoretically derived model of mark-up pricing. The chapter further examines the process by which agents form expectations of output and costs, and the impact of demand factors on prices and the mark-up. The results suggest that much of the non-domestic property tax burden is borne by firms. The chapter ends with a discussion of the theoretical implications of the empirical exercise. Finally, Chapter 8 summarises the main results of the study and emphasises the contribution of incidence theory. The thesis concludes with suggestions for future empirical and theoretical research.

• Item Type: Thesis (PhD)
• Qualification Level: Doctoral
• Additional Information: Advisor: Gavin Wood.
• Keywords: Economics, Public administration
• Colleges/Schools: College of Social Sciences
• Supervisor's Name: Supervisor, not known
• Date of Award: 1986
• Depositing User: Enlighten Team
• Unique ID: glathesis:1986-76636
• Copyright: Copyright of this thesis is held by the author.
• Date Deposited: 19 Nov 2019 14:00
• Last Modified: 06 Jul 2022 09:49
• Thesis DOI: 10.5525/gla.thesis.76636
• URI: https://theses.gla.ac.uk/id/eprint/76636