Property Taxation under Conditions of Rapid Urban Growth by Amy Lee (Singapore)

Synopsis

A good taxation system relies on four important factors: equity, economy of collection, convenience of payment, and certainty of yield. Property based taxation has become a recognised and favoured means of raising revenue in many countries. Indeed, recent experiences in the UK have shown that while there may be problems associated with a property-based taxation system, which resulted in the abolition of rating of domestic properties in the late 1980s, the perceived inequity of the alternative "Poll Tax" led to the reintroduction of a property based system in the form of a banded Council Tax.

This paper discusses the role of property taxation in a developed economy, outlines the variations of method that can be adopted and finally illustrates, via a case study of Singapore, particular issues associated with the implementation of property taxation in an environment of rapid urban growth.