In real estate, betterment is the increased value of real property from causes other than investment made by the property owner. [1] It is, therefore, usually referred to as unearned increment or windfall gain.
When, for instance, a property is rezoned for higher-value uses, or nearby public improvements raise the value of a piece of private land, a property owner is "bettered" due to the actions of others. Because of this, capturing the value of betterment for the public through taxation or other means is a common policy approach.
A property rights holder has a residual claim to income generated in the space over which they have exclusionary rights (“pay to use this space or I’ll exclude you from it”). But these rights are a limited Bundle of rights. They evolve as the law evolves, including zoning and planning law.
The value of private property rights is primarily determined by how much revenue can be generated above costs (excluding property rights costs) on a site at a particular location; that value of property rights value is residual value, just like in other assets like shares in company ownership, which are a claim on residual income. Whichever use of a site generates the largest residual income is its highest and best use.
The value of private property rights is affected by market conditions, location-specific features, fixed improvements, and the nature or extent of the property right. Investing in new fixed improvements, like buildings and earthworks, can add to the value of property because they remove a cost to gaining revenue (remember, property value is revenue minus costs needed to earn that revenue at that location). Their value becomes “attached” to the property as they cannot be separated physically or legally from the property right to a location.
However, the value of private property rights can also increase due to external factors rather than due to investments made by the property rights owners. This is betterment. For example, when the law changes the nature or extent of property rights, such as rezoning to provide additional development rights to property owners, this provides value to the property owner.
The below image shows how betterment arises conceptually, and also how a tax on betterment transfers this value that would otherwise accrue to private property owners to the public. [2]
The left column shows the value of the property rights at a site, such as agricultural or industrial land. That value is determined by the revenue that can be made from exclusively using that site, minus the costs involved in using it. The site value is the residual.
If the market value of the output being produced increases, such as the value of crops, or the value of industrial outputs, but all input costs remain the same, then the site value rises to reflect the higher residual value of production on that site.
This is shown in the second column. For example, if the rent of a residential dwelling rises, but the costs of operating that dwelling remain constant, the value of the home site increases. This change can be considered a windfall gain, and some of that gain is shared with the public where there is a land value, or property, tax system.
The third column shows what happens if there is a change in the nature or extent of the property rights through rezoning. For example, if the previous highest and best use of a site was industrial only because zoning laws prevented other higher residual uses such as residential or commercial at that location, then rezoning will change the highest and best use of the site and hence its value. The difference between the “before” site value (V1) and the new “after” site value (V2) is betterment.
The effect of a tax on betterment arising from rezoning is illustrated in the fourth column. A share of the betterment value is transferred from the private property owner to the public, reducing the private payoff from rezoning decisions, and increasing the public share of benefits.
There are three common ways to capture betterment from rezoning for the public.
The ACT has had a betterment tax in some form since 1971. Its incarnation is the Lease Variation Charge (LVC), which is payable upon an approved development application (though payment timing can be deferred for a period). In 2018-19 it raised $53 million in revenue. [3]
The ACT also captures rezoning betterment for the community by deploying a public agency to undertake all the greenfield land development. This means that the public captures 100% of the betterment from converting rural to urban uses. In 2019-20, $100 million of revenue was raised from this approach. [4]
In 1969 a betterment levy of 30% In Sydney from 1970-74 a 30% rezoning betterment tax applied for the conversion of land from rural to urban uses. The tax payment was triggered by a sale or development approval. It raised, $17 million over its 4.5 years of operation. [1] The Sydney experience in the 1970s was short-lived only because of organised political pressure of landowners who no longer got windfall gains as the city grew.
In its 2021 budget, the Victorian government proposed a windfall rezoning tax of 50% for the conversion of industrial to high density residential uses. [5]
In Housing, Town Planning Act 1909 granted local authorities the option, but not the obligation, to collect betterment and compensate "worsenment" due to planning changes. It was proposed that the entire increase in value due to the scheme be collected when the scheme was adopted, with calculation at that date, but an arbitrary 50% was adopted as a compromise, although some 1909-Act "progeny schemes" raised up to 80%.
In 1932 the percentage was increased to a permissible 75%, claimable within 12 months of the change, with payment deferrable until a change of use or disposition of the property (including a transfer or lease for 3+ years), when it was payable with interest.
Betterment provisions were removed in a 1948 change to the legislation. [6] They were again introduced in the Land Commission Act 1967 at a 40% rate, but were abolished in 1970. [7]
In Colombia, a betterment levy (called contribución de valorización) has been applied since 1921. The model applied depends on the city. The " Bogotá model" of betterment levy reflects more a general tax to cover the cost of specific public works. In the " Medellín model", it's more a participation in the surplus value generated by public works. [8]
Since the 1990s São Paulo had obligations for property developers to contribute a minimum of 50 percent of the incremental value created although in the UO Agua Branca, this minimum was established as 60 percent.
Issues with the practical determination of betterment values led to the implementation of Certificate of additional construction potential bonds (CEPACs), which are issued by the city and sold by auction in the São Paulo Stock Market Exchange (Bovespa).
"They give the bearer additional building rights such as a larger floor area ratio and footprint and the ability to change uses of the plot. Financially speaking, CEPACs are the economic compensation a developer gives the public administration in return for new building rights." [9]
Numerous other cities have variations on this "public purchase and rezone" approach. Public agencies acquiring major un- and under-developed sites prior to rezoning and master-planning for urban uses, then selling most of the up-zoned properties with new roads and infrastructure for private development. This allows public agencies to coordinated public infrastructure without acquiring private property with high value zoning rights and capture 100% of the betterment from zoning changes. [10]
A tax is a compulsory financial charge or some other type of levy imposed on a taxpayer by a governmental organization in order to fund government spending and various public expenditures, and tax compliance refers to policy actions and individual behaviour aimed at ensuring that taxpayers are paying the right amount of tax at the right time and securing the correct tax allowances and tax reliefs. The first known taxation took place in Ancient Egypt around 3000–2800 BC. A failure to pay in a timely manner (non-compliance), along with evasion of or resistance to taxation, is punishable by law. Taxes consist of direct or indirect taxes and may be paid in money or as its labor equivalent.
A land value tax (LVT) is a levy on the value of land without regard to buildings, personal property and other improvements. It is also known as a location value tax, a site valuation tax, split rate tax, or a site-value rating.
This aims to be a complete list of the articles on real estate.
A homeowner association, or a homeowner community, is a private association-like entity often formed either ipso jure in a building with multiple owner-occupancies, or by a real estate developer for the purpose of marketing, managing, and selling homes and lots in a residential subdivision. In the United States, the developer will typically transfer control of the association to the homeowners after selling a predetermined number of lots.
A property tax or millage rate is an ad valorem tax on the value of a property.
Geolibertarianism is a political and economic ideology that integrates libertarianism with Georgism. It favors a taxation system based on income derived from land and natural resources instead of on labor, coupled with a minimalist model of government, as in libertarianism.
Free-market environmentalism argues that the free market, property rights, and tort law provide the best means of preserving the environment, internalizing pollution costs, and conserving resources.
An ad valorem tax is a tax whose amount is based on the value of a transaction or of property. It is typically imposed at the time of a transaction, as in the case of a sales tax or value-added tax (VAT). An ad valorem tax may also be imposed annually, as in the case of a real or personal property tax, or in connection with another significant event. In some countries, a stamp duty is imposed as an ad valorem tax.
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Taxation in France is determined by the yearly budget vote by the French Parliament, which determines which kinds of taxes can be levied and which rates can be applied.
Taxes in New Zealand are collected at a national level by the Inland Revenue Department (IRD) on behalf of the Government of New Zealand. National taxes are levied on personal and business income, and on the supply of goods and services. Capital gains tax applies in limited situations, such as the sale of some rental properties within 10 years of purchase. Some "gains" such as profits on the sale of patent rights are deemed to be income – income tax does apply to property transactions in certain circumstances, particularly speculation. There are currently no land taxes, but local property taxes (rates) are managed and collected by local authorities. Some goods and services carry a specific tax, referred to as an excise or a duty, such as alcohol excise or gaming duty. These are collected by a range of government agencies such as the New Zealand Customs Service. There is no social security (payroll) tax.
Value capture is a type of public financing that recovers some or all of the value that public infrastructure generates for private landowners.
Spot zoning is the application of zoning to a specific parcel or parcels of land within a larger zoned area when the rezoning is usually at odds with a city's master plan and current zoning restrictions. Spot zoning may be ruled invalid as an "arbitrary, capricious and unreasonable treatment" of a limited parcel of land by a local zoning ordinance. While zoning regulates the land use in whole districts, spot zoning makes unjustified exceptions for a parcel or parcels within a district.
Zoning in the United States includes various land use laws falling under the police power rights of state governments and local governments to exercise authority over privately owned real property. Zoning laws in major cities originated with the Los Angeles zoning ordinances of 1904 and the New York City 1916 Zoning Resolution. Early zoning regulations were in some cases motivated by racism and classism, particularly with regard to those mandating single-family housing. Zoning ordinances did not allow African-Americans moving into or using residences that were occupied by majority whites due to the fact that their presence would decrease the value of home. The constitutionality of zoning ordinances was upheld by the Supreme Court of the United States in Village of Euclid, Ohio v. Ambler Realty Co. in 1926.
Contract zoning in the United States, also referred to as "zoning by contract", "rezoning by contract", or "rezoning subject to conditions" is a form of land use regulation in which a local zoning authority accommodates a private interest by rezoning a district or a parcel of land within that district to a zoning classification with fewer restrictions based on an agreement that the property owner abide by certain conditions or limitations imposed by the zoning authority for that parcel.
Taxation in Denmark consists of a comprehensive system of direct and indirect taxes. Ever since the income tax was introduced in Denmark via a fundamental tax reform in 1903, it has been a fundamental pillar in the Danish tax system. Today various personal and corporate income taxes yield around two thirds of the total Danish tax revenues, indirect taxes being responsible for the last third. The state personal income tax is a progressive tax while the municipal income tax is a proportional tax above a certain income level.
Non-tax revenue or non-tax receipts are government revenue not generated from taxes. For example - bond issues and profits of state-owned companies.
Most local governments in the United States impose a property tax, also known as a millage rate, as a principal source of revenue. This tax may be imposed on real estate or personal property. The tax is nearly always computed as the fair market value of the property times an assessment ratio times a tax rate, and is generally an obligation of the owner of the property. Values are determined by local officials, and may be disputed by property owners. For the taxing authority, one advantage of the property tax over the sales tax or income tax is that the revenue always equals the tax levy, unlike the other taxes. The property tax typically produces the required revenue for municipalities' tax levies. A disadvantage to the taxpayer is that the tax liability is fixed, while the taxpayer's income is not.
Taxes in Germany are levied by the federal government, the states (Länder) as well as the municipalities (Städte/Gemeinden). Many direct and indirect taxes exist in Germany; income tax and VAT are the most significant.
The Howard County Department of Planning and Zoning (DPZ) manages planning and development in Howard County, Maryland, a Central Maryland jurisdiction equidistant between Baltimore, Maryland and Washington, D.C.