Improving the Property Taxation in the Russian Federation

Abstract

In their search for new ways of recharging budget revenues, foreign countries repeatedly implement tax reforms including the area of property taxation.The subject of the researchis the state of property taxation in the Russian Federation and abroad.The purposes of the researchwere to study the trends in property tax reforms in the world and the Russian Federation; systematize the OECD experience in reforming property taxation; compare the Russian innovations in the field of corporate property taxation with the trends existing in OECD countries; assess of the adequacy of corporate property tax reforms carried out in Russia in recent years, and propose property tax innovations with account for advanced foreign experience based on OECD data, foreign and domestic publications. The share of property taxes in the Russian GDP is lower compared to the OECD average although it is higher than in the countries with the lowest value of this indicator, which means that the above shares can be increased as shown by a comprehensive analysis of both taxation practices in foreign countries and the socio-economic situation in Russia.It is concludedthat Russian innovations in the field of property taxation generally conform to the world trends both in terms of tax rates and the tax base formation procedure. The paper outlines the most significant areas of the property tax reform comprising a clear legislative distinction between movable and immovable property, reasoned definition of the real estate cadastral value taking into account the developments in the foreign and domestic economic literature on this issue.