Promoting the supply of low income rental housing

Abstract

There is disturbing evidence of a contraction in the stock of low income private rental housing. In this paper we offer evidence indicating that federal government tax preferences, economies of scope and higher operating costs are part of the explanation for this contraction. The Australian Bureau of Statistics Rental Investors’ Survey is used to gauge whether low income housing tax credits and tax‐free capital gains thresholds can be used to promote the supply of low income rental housing.     

Promoting the supply of low income rental housing

There is disturbing evidence of a contraction in the stock of low income private rental housing. In this paper we offer evidence indicating that federal government tax preferences, economies of scope and higher operating costs are part of the explanation for this contraction. The Australian Bureau of Statistics Rental Investors' Survey is used to gauge whether low income housing tax credits and tax-free capital gains thresholds can be used to promote the supply of low income rental housing.     

营业税及物业税对住宅市场影响的比较分析

应用供求均衡理论分别对营业税和物业税对住宅市场中的存量市场和增量市场的短期影响做了比较分析;应用四象限模型对营业税和物业税对住宅市场的长期影响做了比较分析,并引用徐州市住宅市场的数据对营业税作了实证分析。在此基础上得出结论:在目前情况下,如能出台物业税,将更有助于稳定住房市场。     

Low Income Housing Tax Credit Programme Impacts on Housing Affordability in Australia: Microsimulation Model Estimates

Growing concern about a lack of rental housing affordable to low-income Australian households has prompted consideration of possible policy interventions. This paper estimates the potential housing market impacts of a tax credit targeted on rental housing affordable to low-income Australian households. The study finds that existing landlords in low-income rental housing benefit from a one-third or more reduction in their effective tax burdens. If these tax benefits are passed on in the form of lower market rents, it is estimated that the percentage of households paying more than 30 per cent of gross income in rents falls from 26 to 21 per cent. This impact would be larger but for eligible households in receipt of demand-side subsidies in the form of rent assistance. As a consequence, many low-income households receive only part of the low income housing tax credit benefits that are passed on into lower market rents. Moreover, higher income tenants occupy some of the cheaper rental housing targeted by tax credits, and this weakens the policy rationale for such supply-side measures. The paper advocates the adoption of headleasing arrangements to increase the share of benefits received by low-income tenants.     

Discourses around negative gearing of investment properties in Australia

A tax rule whereby losses on a rental property are deductible against personal taxable income (commonly known as ‘negative gearing’) is an almost uniquely Australian practice. This article explores how this practice is legitimised and justified by politicians despite coherent criticisms that the practice misdirects investment into unproductive asset speculation causing house price inflation and inequality. This article uses critical discourse analysis to examine how ‘negative gearing’ is criticised and legitimised. It is argued that the interests of the property-owning majority and electoral pragmatism determine government housing policy. There is a disjunct between the political imperative of the major parties to maintain high housing prices in order not to erode the wealth of the majority of voters (property owners) and the emerging problem of housing unaffordability. Despite mounting coherent critique coming from economists, and younger cohorts excluded from home ownership, the policy continues due to realpolitik considerations.     

The Effect of Housing Expenses and Subsidies on the Income Distribution in Flanders and the Netherlands

This study explores the role of housing expenses and subsidies with respect to income distribution in Flanders (the northern part of Belgium) and the Netherlands in 2005–2006. It analyses income poverty and inequality by comparing equivalent disposable income before and after housing expenses with a relative poverty threshold and the Gini coefficient. Poverty and income inequality increase in both ‘countries’ when equivalent disposable income is corrected for housing expenses. Furthermore, the relative position of outright owners and social tenants regarding poverty improves. Housing subsidies play a (partly) different role in Flanders and the Netherlands. The implicit social rent subsidy in Flanders and the explicit housing allowance in the Netherlands serve the same goal; however, they both redistribute income relatively strongly in favour of low-income tenants. The tax relief system on the other hand increases income inequality in society, in both Flanders and the Netherlands, whereas our comparative analysis suggests that tax relief does not have a moderating effect on net housing expenses.     

Dutch Personal Income Tax Reform 2001: An Exceptional Position for Owner-occupied Housing

This paper examines how personal income taxation has changed across countries and whether and how this has affected the taxation of owner-occupied dwellings. It presents a partial analysis as it focuses on imputed rent taxation and the mortgage interest deduction. Furthermore, the paper places housing taxation in a wider context by describing different benchmarks which could be used to assess the taxation of owner-occupied housing in different types of personal income tax. These international and theoretical points-of-departure are used to evaluate the taxation of owner-occupied housing in the Netherlands. The paper concludes that all along political arguments have conquered theoretical premises to the advantage of the owner occupier in comparison to the private landlord. It also concludes that the theoretical base in 2001 has become so weak that owner-occupied housing is in an exceptional position in comparison with other private wealth thus becoming an easy victim for future tax savings.     

Both Rationed and Subsidised: Jersey's Command Economy in Housing

The bailiwick of Jersey's special constitutional position has given it the opportunity to develop its own economic, cultural and policy strategies. Becoming an off-shore tax haven, with a flat rate income tax of 20 per cent, no VAT, no inheritance tax and no capital gains tax, has brought with it the need to strictly limit residency. A key instrument in this has been housing policy and draconian measures have been introduced by the States of Jersey to ration access to housing through a complex series of stacked housing rights directly linked to residency rights. At the same time, the high cost of housing on Jersey that has resulted from economic pressures has forced the States to subsidise housing to certain categories of those who fulfil the residency requirements. This paper describes Jersey's unique and little known housing system. It is suggested that Jersey's housing policy strategy can be fruitfully understood in a broader international comparative context and in relation to other tax-havens and 'micro-states'.     

房地产价格、税收与公共政策

房地产价值来源于土地、人的个体劳动与社会协作劳动,表现为工资租金、社会租金和地租三个部分。工资租金用于个人或组织发展,社会租金用于促进社会发展,地租用于环境保护。房地产价格泡沫的本质就是投机者牺牲社会的整体、长期利益来获取个人或集团的短期利益的过程。政府通过税收收取社会租金和地租并通过累进制的住房补贴、环境保护基金与税率,使房地产价格、税收和公共政策相互约束,可以形成一个公平、效率与环境保护相协调的房地产业的自动调节系统。     

TAX ABATEMENTS AND BELOW MARKET RATE MORTGAGES TO ATTRACT MIDDLE INCOME FAMILIES TO THE CENTRAL CITY: A Cincinnati Study

ABSTRACT: There is growing recognition among mayors and other local officials of the need for programs such as tax abatements and government financed below market rate loans to stimulate new middle income housing production. Unfortunately, data are lacking about the potential demand for such programs among middle income buyers. To address this gap in the literature, stepwise multiple regression analysis was applied to a mailed questionnaire sample of 2,276 recent homebuyers in Hamilton County (Cincinnati), Ohio, to determine the level and nature of interest in tax abatements and government financed below market rate loans. Nearly half the respondents said they would have considered comparable housing in another locality had it offered one of the two incentives. As predicted, those who were interested tended to be in the early stages of the family mobility cycle. In addition, blacks and intermetropolitan relocatees tended to be interested. The implications of these findings for efforts to stimulate new housing production in central cities are discussed.     

深圳市商品住宅价格系统动力学模型仿真与政策实验

建立深圳市商品住宅价格系统动力学模型,对仿真结果进行短期和长期分析,明确商品住宅价格、人均可支配收入、商品住宅开发投资、GDP 等主要指标的变化趋势以及影响商品住宅价格变化的时间顺序,探索商品住宅价格上涨的主要原因。选择中长期贷款利率、税率和基建投资比例、人口自然增长率和基准地价等指标,进行单一指标和多项指标政策实验,寻求商品住宅价格宏观调控的有效手段。研究结果表明:人口自然增长率、税率和基准地价等指标对商品住宅价格、房价收入比的影响更加显著;多项指标政策综合调控效果比单一指标政策更加显著,但不一定优于单一指标调控效果的简单叠加。     

Evaluating housing policies from an income‐distribution perspective—The case of Sweden

One purpose of this article is to examine under what conditions the impact of housing policies on the distribution of income becomes a major focus of interest. First we review various arguments in favour of tying transfers to specific types of consumption, and outline the historical development of Swedish housing policies in this light. We find that the interest in the impact of housing subsidies on the distribution of income stems from the 1970s when the housing supply became more adequate. We argue that the Swedish housing allowance system is of special interest in connection with income distribution considerations. The system's impact on the income distribution is evaluated here with the help of a microsimulation model. It is shown to be quite efficient in the sense that it consistently benefits households with a low “equivalent” income, i.e. a low income in relation to needs. We also find that the new housing allowance system has a crucial impact on the distributional outcome of the 1991 tax‐benefit reform, a major reform package in Sweden which includes large cuts in housing subsidies.     

More and better credit: Housing policy reform in Bolivia

Access to financing for housing in Third‐World countries is in very limited supply and formal‐sector housing finance is only available to a small proportion of the (higher‐income) urban population. Typically, the great majority of households in developing countries rely entirely on their own savings. Since investment by owner‐occupiers is usually three to four times their annual incomes, the inability to borrow against future earnings using the house as collateral prevents them from satisfying their housing needs and inhibits investment in housing. Consequently, a variety of lending policies and practices have been suggested and attempted in many countries to make housing finance more accessible to borrowers. This paper describes recent attempts by the Bolivian government to improve the supply of funds available for low‐income housing credit through the examination of the Fondo Nacionale de Viviendas Sociales (FONVIS), an entity designed to improve access to mortgage credit among low‐income households and funded through a mandatory payroll tax. The impact of FONVIS on problems of affordability and housing supply is estimated using data from the organization's data banks as well as those culled from recent household surveys. In addition, the paper includes a discussion of the most salient problems with FONVIS’ current procedures and regulations, such as its unnecessary control over housing design standards and the exclusion of informal‐sector workers. The paper concludes with recommendations regarding how to make FONVIS more responsive to the housing conditions of the poor, assuming that the current administration wants to continue using a mandatory payroll tax to support the credit market.     

Driving in neutral: Is it the way forward for housing policy?

The `libertarian' argument of PeterKing aims to put tenure neutrality and a negativeincome tax in place of current government supportfor housing. However, formulating rules for tenureneutrality is hard and the negative income tax mayrequire unacceptably high taxes. Real worldcomplexity makes such simple rules with regard tohousing difficult to achieve. Such complexity alsohelps to make a case for social housing.     

个人住房转让营业税新规的关键点及市场效应

2009年12月9日国务院常务会议决定，个人住房转让营业税征免时限由2年恢复到5年，其他住房消费政策继续实施。2009年12月22日，财政部、国家税务总局发布了《关于调整个人住房转让营业税政策的通知》，执行国务院会议的决定。这是金融危机以来高层对于近期市场投机过剩而采取的—项税收措施。为此，笔者梳理了补人住房转让营业税新旧政策调整隋况，并分析新政策对纳税人及房地产市场的影响。     

Intra-urban Inequalities and Planning Strategies: A Case Study of Be'er Sheva,Israel

Intra-urban distribution of different income groups of population is arguably a function of four major determinants: (a) overall income, (b) housing expenses, (c) commuting expenses and (d) other outlays, conditionally independent of a particular location. These factors are likely to cause a patched distribution of different population groups, with predominant concentration of low-income residents in inner-city fringes, along the major transport lines. The validity of this supposition is tested using statistical data available for the city of Be'er Sheva, Israel. Hierarchical cluster analysis is used to determine the underlying patterns of intra-urban inequalities at a neighbourhood level. A number of development strategies are proposed, aimed at reducing the extent of intra-urban development disparities. These include: (i) enhancing the development of inner-city fringes as a mean of facilitating intra-urban commuting; (ii) more even distribution of public housing construction across urban areas; and (iii) establishing a system of special-purpose grants, aimed at assisting low- and medium-income residents in either renting or purchasing apartments and houses outside inner-city suburbs. It is also suggested that the distribution of property tax burden should reflect the neighbourhoods' development and welfare of residents and not be based only on physical size and structural conditions of the building, as often reflected in current practice.     

PPP模式下保障性住房的共有产权分配研究

融资渠道单一是制约我国保障房建设的重要因素之一。PPP模式是政府与私人企业基于某个项目而形成以“双赢”为理念的合作形式。论文着眼于保障性住房的属性,从产权的微观结构出发,探索PPP模式下合理的产权结构安排,分析研究PPP模式下保障性住房的产权配置方式、产权主体、产权的初始分配和再分配,在此基础上揭示各产权主体之间的产权利益分配关系。以期为保障性住房供给的多元化提供相应的指导,也为政府解决中低收入群体的住房问题提供产权理论上的依据。     

Implicit Land Taxation and Affordable Housing Provision in England

The paper considers the proposal in England that a continuing requirement for residential developers to contribute directly to the supply of affordable housing in return for planning permission should operate alongside a new tax on land value increases due to planning permission. The paper asks whether it is right in principle for affordable housing to be supported by the implicit taxation of development. It is argued that in terms of transparency, clarity, and certainty explicit taxation is to be preferred to implicit taxation. It is thus suggested that once the new explicit tax is in place developers should no longer be routinely required to pay an additional implicit affordable housing tax. Affordable housing should, it is argued, be supported on the basis of need, not the resources available from the development process. The link between the provision of affordable housing and planning obligations should be broken.     

The continued retreat of non-profit housing providers in the Netherlands

After the abolishment of object subsidies for housing construction and renovation in the mid 1990s, Dutch housing associations, the main non-profit housing providers in the country, heavily relied on market activities, such as selling homes to owner occupiers, to generate income for their social activities and to contribute to urban development policies. This worked well, which was one of the main reasons that these housing providers could adopt a wide field of operations, including not only the management and development of affordable housing for low-income groups, but also housing in other market segments, plus activities regarding care, welfare, local economy, employment and education. Recent economic and political developments, however, have caused housing associations to return on this path. Central in this paper is a research among Dutch housing associations about their values, strategic positioning and strategies. The research was executed in two waves (conducted in 2010/2011 and in 2013/2014, respectively), each consisting of a panel survey and interviews with selected panellists. This paper presents the results of the second wave. It is expected that after the first wave of the research, new regulations, such as the national implementation of European rules on state support and the introduction of a new property tax, have resulted in a further retreat from non-social housing activities. The analysis shows that this is indeed the case, but that the main shifts in priorities have not taken place directly after the credit crunch, but in later years.     

THE TAX EQUITY EFFECTS OF THE SUBSTITUTION OF MUNICIPAL ELECTRIC PROFITS FOR PROPERTY TAXES

Many municipalities own and operate the electric companies which service their population, or act as distributors of electricity which they purchase from privately owned electric companies. Municipalities will often sell electricity at a substantial profit which is credited to their General Fund and becomes a substitute for properly taxes. A case study of a Delaware municipality that follows this practice was examined to determine the impact of this practice on its local tax structure from the standpoint of tax equity. A sample of households provided data on income, property taxes, and electric usage. Profit from the sale of electricity was treated as an excise tax, and the relative burden of this tax on various income groups was compared to the relative burden of properly taxes to see which was more regressive. The study showed that the city should rely less on the electric excise tax and more on the property tax if it wished to improve the equity of its local tax structure. This case study suggests that municipalities which substitute electric profits for property taxes might improve the equity of their tax structure by amending this practice.