This diploma thesis discusses how to set the real estate transfer tax. The goal is to put proposals to tax arrangements, or to consider its abolition. The main source of possibilities of changes is a comparison of Czech real estate transfer tax with the foreign models of taxation. The thesis describes the historical development of the tax in the Czech Republic and analyzes in details the current legislation. There is evaluated the effectiveness of the tax and its consistency with the principles of tax theory. From the comparative analysis of various options are inferred recommendations for changes in particular in the areas of determining the taxpayer, the procedures for checking the tax base, rates and breadth of the exemption. The thesis assessed the tax as an appropriate part of a modern tax system, and however, it shows necessity to make certain changes and to streamline the tax by increasing its tax rate and limiting exemptions width.

In order to assist governments in ensuring efficient housing markets and providing access to suitable housing conditions for all people, research about the functioning of housing markets is needed. My thesis, which is comprised of three essays that repre-sent the main chapters, contributes to the research on the economic processes that work within housing markets, especially with regard to challenges that arise from ur-ban concentration. In particular, I study the following research questions: • What are causes of vacancies in the housing market? • What are the effects of real estate transfer taxes on activity in the housing market? • What are the differences between counties in the provision of technical infra-structure? 1. Causes of Vacancies We summarize theoretical approaches, which may explain the mechanisms leading to vacancies under the assumptions of the standard market model, search and matching theory and behavioral economics. Concerning the latter, we propose a new frame-work to explain why and under which conditions homeowners are hesitant to sell their dwellings, which may lead to vacancies. In this framework, we highlight the fact that even if buyers and sellers are homogenous individuals, their willingness to pay differs depending on market developments. Under the assumptions of the standard market model, we hypothesize that vacancies only arise if the market price equals the suppliers’ minimum price. Next to that, we identify the following factors that could explain an increase in vacancies: Greater market power, higher heterogeneity between dwellings, low holding costs of dwellings, high list prices, a high share of small dwell-ings, less intermediaries and a shorter mandatory period of notice of tenants. Despite the wide range of models explaining vacancies, there is need for new theoretical frameworks. We evaluate the identified hypotheses in the theoretical literature by comparing them with the results found in the empirical studies. Some hypotheses have either been in-vestigated by the empirical literature only to a limited degree or have not been inves-tigated at all. Next to the positive analysis of the mechanisms that cause vacancies, we need to pose the normative question, if and under which circumstances vacancies should be considered problematic. Vacancies in the short run may be a necessity in a search and matching context to reach an efficient market outcome; i.e., to offer poten-tial buyers a heterogeneous pool of options to choose from and to fit their individual needs. Additionally, with the assumptions of behavioral economics, an owner of a vacant dwelling might find greater pleasure in speculating with the object than a buyer would enjoy living in it. However, vacancies could indicate a welfare loss if caused by a monopoly that artificially reduces the housing supply on a market. A reduction of information asymmetry could reduce vacancies and increase welfare. 2. Effects of Real Estate Transfer Taxes German states can set their own real estate transfer tax rates. To date, the real estate transfer tax rates range between 3.5% and 6.5%. Although the tax rates do not seem to be particularly high, the tax results in a relatively high tax amount to be paid; even small changes in the tax rate may cause buyers to accelerate a planned transaction to pay a lower tax rate. In our empirical analysis of different German states, we estimate that a one-percentage-point increase in the transfer tax produces significant anticipation effects for the month just before a tax is increased (about 43% more transactions before and 44% less after) and yields approximately 6% fewer overall transactions and therefore much lower market activity. We show that in many cases, the former first-best option – to buy or sell a single-family home – is apparently no longer the optimal choice. Thus, we expect ownership rates to decrease as letting apartments becomes more attractive than selling. This questions the wisdom of real estate transfer tax increases when other political measures that attempt to support homeownership creation are in place. Addi-tionally, retired households, which tend to stay in houses that are too large after their children have left, could be discouraged from downsizing to their actual needs. Indi-viduals may forgo better job offers in other regions or accept longer commutes, which can have negative consequences on urban labor markets. 3. Efficiency of County Road Provision When houses in urban areas are expensive, an adequate road network allows residents to locate further away from agglomeration centers. This takes pressure off housing prices and infrastructure systems in cities and supports housing markets in rural areas. I use the example of county roads to study whether counties differ in their efficiency of the provision of infrastructure. Efficiency refers to the use of economic resources (input) in the most technologically efficient manner to produce a certain amount of output. Studies on the efficient provision of roads incorporated the ‘quantity’ of roads (e.g., the length of the road network) and the ‘quality’ of roads (e.g., an index that measures road condition) as the relevant output indicators. I address two major problems of previous studies. First, to measure the quality of roads, I acquired new and improved data on road condition by county governments. Second, I focus on the data referring to a road network of approximately the same age. An old road network asks for more frequent maintenance and thus higher costs. Therefore, it is possible that governments with an older road network in their region could be identified as less efficient than governments with a newer road network, even if they do not actually employ their financial resources in a less efficient manner. The results of my study indicate that there are substantial efficiency differences and efficiency reserves in the provision of roads in eastern German counties: Depending on the specification, in the median county, the same level of outputs (i.e., area of roads and road condition) could be achieved using 48% to 70% fewer inputs (i.e., expendi-tures). I also find that my results differ greatly from existing studies applying proxy data for the quality of roads (e.g., the number of accidents).

This master thesis deals with the impact of recodification of private substantive law on property tax legislation, however, it is mostly concerned with real estate transfer tax. This paper is divided into four chapters including introduction and conclusion. The second chapter deals with recodification and the most important changes it has brought and their impact on property tax legislation. The central third chapter is concerned with the effective regulation of real estate transfer tax, which is thoroughly analysed and compared with the previous legislation. Apart from this, the chapter critically evaluates this legislation and introduces suggestions 'de lege ferenda'.

Olika aktörer på fastighetsmarknaden har svårigheter att värdesätta kommersiella fastigheter på grund av den minskade transparensen på marknaden. Den minskade transparensen är ett resultat av att färre fastigheter överlåts genom köpehandling idag. Syftet med denna studie är att skapa en ökad förståelse på fastighetsmarknaden och på så vis underlätta för olika aktörer på fastighetsmarknaden att genomföra marknadsanalyser. Målet är att utreda varför vissa bolag väljer att överlåta sina fastigheter med köpehandling istället för att överlåta fastigheter genom att paketera den i ett dotterbolag. Två rättsfall har studerats för att få rättsväsendets bedömningar. Genom rättsfallen kunde det konstateras att det råder en viss osäkerhet i hur beskattningen ska genomföras vid fastighetsöverlåtelser. Denna osäkerhet kan leda till att bolagen väljer att överlåta fastigheterna genom köpehandling där rättsläget är mycket tydligare.   För att utreda varför bolag väljer att överlåta kommersiella fastigheter genom köpehandling har en intervjustudie genomförts. Intervjustudien påvisade att bolagens val av överlåtelseform är beroende av de för- och nackdelar samt de skattemässiga konsekvenser som överlåtelsen medför. Intervjustudien visar även att enklare överlåtelseprocesser föredras av bolagen samt att de säljande bolagen vill uppnå en ekonomisk vinning genom överlåtelserna av fastigheterna.   Slutsatsen är att säljarens val av överlåtelseform är beroende på utfallet av kalkyleringsmetoden, köparens påverkan på överlåtelseformen samt hur komplicerad överlåtelseprocessen får vara. Den ökade transparensen som överlåtelser genom köpehandling bidrar till gör att de olika aktörernas marknadsanalyser på fastighetsmarknaden kan förenklas och bli mer tillförlitliga. Utöver detta avser regeringen att tillsätta en utredning angående skatteplanering i samband med då fastigheter paketeras i bolag. Beroende på vad regeringens utredning får för utfall kan antalet överlåtelser på fastighetsmarknaden ändras vilket skulle kunna vara intressant att undersöka i en framtida studie. / Different participants in the real estate market have difficulty in valuing commercial real estate due to reduced market transparency. The reduced transparency is a result of fewer properties being transferred by way of document of purchase today. The purpose of this study is to create a better understanding of the property market and be able to provide market participant with an improved understanding how to analyze this market. The objective is to investigate why some companies choose to sell properties by way of document of purchase instead of transferring the property by using a limited company structure. Two legal cases have been reviewed for judicial assessments. The court cases analysis showed the degree of turnover of property transfers can lead to uncertainty in terms of possible tax implications. This uncertainty might lead to companies choosing to transfer properties by way of document of purchase due to the much clearer legal position.   An interview study has been conducted to investigate why companies transfer commercial properties through the use of purchase document. The study showed that companies’ choice of transfer form is dependent on the advantages and disadvantages of the form together with possible tax implications. The interview study also showed a simple transfer process is preferred together with financial gains when selling properties.   The conclusion is that the seller’s preferred choice of transfer form is dependent on the outcome of the project models, the purchasers’ impact and how complicated the transfer process may be. The increased level of transparency achieved by using document of purchase makes it easier for participants in the real estate market to conduct market analysis and also to make the results more reliable. In addition to this the Swedish government intends to launch an investigation into potential effects of tax planning in connection with the use of limited corporate structures. The number of transferals in the property market could potentially change dependent on the outcome of the government’s investigation and if so this could be an interesting topic for a future study.

This thesis is about the property tax in the municipal authorities. A lot of states in OECD has revenues divided into tax revenues, financial transfers and borrowing. The property tax is the one of the tax revenues. The realty tax, death duty, gift tax, real estate-transfer tax and vehicle excise duty are the property taxes in Czech Republic. The realty tax is the most important tax of all property taxes. This tax creates the biggest part of property taxes in all states of OECD. In some states, for example in Czech Republic, Ireland or Netherlands, the realty{\crq}s tax share in property taxes is 100%. But the part of property taxes in whole tax revenue is very small. The property tax is very important incomes for territorial budget in the Czech Republic. It is once tax revenue, which floats to the territorial budget.

This diploma thesis focuses on the analysis of the effectiveness of transfer taxes in the period 2006 to 2010 in the Czech Republic. The first part of this thesis describes the historical development and the basic characteristics of transfer taxes in the Czech Republic and analyzes in details the current legislation. The second part deals with the analysis of the effectiveness of transfer taxes, i.e. measurement of the administrative costs of taxation and their subsequent comparison with revenues. The measurement of the administrative costs is used by the method called WTE staff. On the base of the measurement is done the conclusion about the administrative costs of taxation and about efficiency of transfer taxes in the tax system of the Czech Republic. The third part discusses on plans for future development in this area of transfer taxes in the Czech Republic.

The thesis deals with tax liabilities of an owner of real estate. The theoretical part describes tax acts in 2010 which are used in the thesis. I focused on selection of the parts of the acts which refer to real estate so that the public can easily understand and use them. The practical part includes taxation of specific cases with commentary and reasoning of individual steps arising during purchase, usage and transfer of real estate. The specific cases are modelled for a natural person taxpayer not being an entrepreneur and a natural person taxpayer being an entrepreneur.