Benefits and costs of the statutory framework for residential property taxation: from tax theory to ineffective administrative practices

LTDaugelyje valstybių yra sunku įgyvendinti gyvenamosios nuosavybės apmokestinimą, Lietuva taip pat nėra išimtis. Nors daugelis mokesčių mokėtojų nepritaria tam, kad nuosavybė būtų apmokestinama, tačiau tai nėra vienintelė problema su kuria susiduria vyriausybė. Kartais neišvystytas mokesčių administravimas, bet ne pats mokestis, sumažina visuomenės pasitikėjimą. Nors nuo 1990 m. Lietuvoje komercinės paskirties patalpos bei žemė yra tolydžio apmokestinami, problematiškiausias išliko gyvenamosios nuosavybės apmokestinimas. Po 2008 m. parlamento rinkimų, pasikeitus politinei valdžiai, buvo dar kartą svarstomas gyvenamosios nuosavybės apmokestinimas. Nauja vyriausybė, suformuota iš konservatorių bei naujai įsteigtų partijų atstovų, susidūrė su naujomis ekonominėmis realijomis: pasaulinis ekonominis nuosmukis bei staigus Lietuvos ekonomikos nuosmukis nuo paskutiniojo 2008 m. ketvirčio. Visa tai paskatino vyriausybę svarstyti gyvenamosios nuosavybės apmokestinimą. Visgi augantis nedarbas bei blogėjanti gyventojų socialinė gerovė paskatino vis didėjantį pasipriešinimą minėtojo mokesčio įvedimui. Be to, pažymėtina ir tai, kad daugelis Lietuvos gyventojų turi paskolas gyvenamajam būstui įsigyti, kai tuo tarpu tokios nuosavybės kainos padvigubėjo ar net patrigubėjo 2008 m. pabaigoje palyginus su 2003 m. Jeigu būtų patvirtintas gyvenamosios nuosavybės apmokestinimas, daugelio gyventojų būstui skiriamos lėšos dar išaugtų. Todėl straipsnio autorius siekia dar kartą apsvarstyti gyvenamosios nuosavybės apmokestinimą bei kelią tikslą modernizuoti apskritai mokesčių administravimo sistemą.

ENTaxation of residential property is difficult to be implemented in many jurisdictions and in this respect Lithuania is not an exception. Many taxpayers do not comprehend why property should be levied by the government. Indeed, any owner of real estate would usually resist to any attempts to increase this tax burden. However, even when the threshold is once overstepped and a new unpopular statutory framework is introduced, the government still faces new dilemmas regarding the administration of this tax. Sometimes weak tax administration but not the tax itself undermines the credibility of the public. Commercial premises as well as land have been continuously levied in the Republic of Lithuania since 1990. Thus, the taxes paid by enterprises and the land tax were not a big issue of public debate in Lithuania. The burden of this tax was not very significant in the light of all taxes paid by enterprises or land owners. The most problematic issue remains the taxation of residential property. Residential property has been basically exempted from the tax base in Lithuania until now. However, after the Parliament’s election and the change of the political leadership in 2008, the issue of the taxation of residential property is reconsidered. A preliminary date (2010 or 2011) for the reinforcement of the Law on Property Tax is set forth. The new Government formed of the conservative wing and newly established political forces have faced new economic realities: a global economic downturn accompanied with a sharp decline in the Lithuanian economy (e.g. a decline of approximately 13 per cent in the first quarter of 2009 ) since the last quarter of 2008.This induced the Government to engage in a broad discussion on the taxation of residential property again. However, the increasing level of unemployment in the EU (the rate of unemployment in Lithuania was among the highest in the EU in 2009) as well as the worsening social status of many inhabitants increases political resistance to the taxation of residential property. In addition, it must be borne in mind that during the recent years a large number of Lithuanian inhabitants have taken mortgages to acquire residential property, which has eventually doubled or sometimes even tripled the price of residential real estate by the end of 2008 in comparison with 2003. If the new taxation of residential property is introduced, for a large number of inhabitants the housing expenditure will increase (in addition to the current problems in the employment market, increased interest rates paid for mortgages , etc.). In the light of these political developments, the author strives to reexamine the theory on the taxation of residential property as well as discusses some attempts to modernize the Lithuanian statutory framework. Some reflections on good tax administrative practices are presented at the end of this article.