Ch17 TAXES ON WEALTH, PROPERTY, AND ESTATES（课件）- 《财政金融英文版》同步教学（人民大学版）

TAXES ON WEALTH, PROPERTY, AND ESTATES C h a p t e r 17 Comprehensive Wealth Tax Base Wealth – market value of accumulated assets in a nation Can acquire wealth through saving, gifts, inheritances Comprehensive wealth tax base would include all wealth in the economy As society reaches economic maturity, tax on wealth becomes tax on real estate Real estate or real property – land and structures Many argue it is necessary to tax wealth in order to achieve an equitable tax structure Measuring Wealth Can be measured by determining net value of financial assets, capital assets, and land Tax on wealth can be viewed as tax on return earned on savings, investments Wealth is a stock rather than a flow like income and consumption Stock – variable with a value defined at a particular point in time To determine base for wealth, all forms of property owned by taxpayers must be listed, values must be assessed Measuring Wealth Considering only net assets of households (first approach), total wealth has three components: All real property owned by households (land and improvements) All tangible personal property owned by households (movable assets) All intangible personal property owned by households (stocks, bonds, etc.) Measuring Wealth Second approach includes assets of corporations but excludes intangible property that represents claims on the assets of such corporations So excludes outstanding corporate stock Second approach deducts from tax base all debt incurred by private sector to obtain a measure of net wealth Assessment of Property Value Assessment – valuation of taxable wealth by government authorities Assessment practices criticized for being too subjective In general property tax, assessors estimate value of both real estate and movable personal property Assessment easier for intangible personal property (stocks), autos, etc. than for real estate Property must be reassessed to reflect changing market values Value varies with factors like location, age, etc. Compreh