The article explores the subject of diversification of local tax policy and its fiscal consequences in Poland in 2007–2019. It focuses on various types of municipalities and tax governance tools they use (establishing tax rates, applying tax exemptions and non-statutory reliefs). The analysed taxes include immovable property taxes (property tax, agricultural tax) and movable property ones (tax on means of transport). Theoretical and empirical analyses confirmed the hypotheses. Polish municipalities utilize tax governance tools on a small scale and their taxation policies differ depending on the category of local tax and the type of municipality.

Analysis of the current property tax structure, which is calculated in proportion to the area of land and buildings, leaves no doubt that this is not an appropriate solution in terms of tax efficiency and equity. Property tax reform is necessary; however, the concept of ad valorem tax is challenging to introduce and implement. An alternative to value-based property tax could be the concept of tax zoning, particularly in heterogeneous urban areas. This would partially expand existing legal regulations, which allow for differentiating tax rates for different types of taxable items, particularly considering their location. The article presents this concept as one that could effectively replace the existing residential property taxation system in a short time. Due to the significant socio-economic diversity of urban units, it is necessary to identify factors reflecting their specificity. The article attempts to quantify the criteria considered significant for residents of Polish cities. A combination of various measures allowed for the indication of the potential effects, both fiscal and non-fiscal. The proposed concepts were validated through empirical analysis based on data from publicly accessible databases. The research results emphasize the importance of the precise design of the property tax system, which can have significant consequences for the dynamics of the real estate market.

The article presents research on the local property tax policy of rural and urban-rural municipalities in Poland. Various methods were used to investigate the data interdependencies of mathematical statistics (Pearson’s correlation test, Spearman’s correlation test and Pearson’s independence test). For direct data and coefficients, Pearson’s classic correlation was used. With regard to the processed, dichotomic and enumerated data (including the contingency tables), Spearman’s rank correlation was used. The study showed that the tax policy of the analysed municipalities was differentiated and could, under certain conditions, give rise to a positive upward tendency of incomes generated in property tax – which should be seen as an original contribution of work from the authors of this article.

Tax on means of transport is one of the own revenues of city counties in Poland. They may affect its construction within the scope defined by the legislator. The authors of the article examined and evaluated the volume, stability and diversification of the significance of revenues achieved by city counties on account of tax on means of transport and discussed the significance of certain factors determining their level. Among these factors the local tax policy deserves a special attention. Therefore, the authors examined the scale of application of instruments of the local tax policy as well as their practical effectiveness reflected by the budget revenue growth in the subsequent periods. The following methods were used: descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, classical Pearsons independence test or Spearmans rho correlation test. The article also presents econometric models illustrating the effects of tax policy in relation to particular categories of tax payers of tax on means of transport.

Wydawnictwo Naukowe Uniwersytetu Szczecińskiego

Celem artykułu była ocena powierzchniowego i wartościowego opodatkowania nieruchomości na przykładzie Polski i Niemiec. W analizie odwołaliśmy się do teoretycznych koncepcji zawartych w literaturze oraz do innych badań, a także uwzględniliśmy takie kryteria, jak makroekonomiczna efektywność (znaczenie fiskalne), kwestie sprawiedliwości i neutralności oraz elementy techniczne. Zauważyliśmy większą istotność fiskalną opodatkowania nieruchomości w systemie katastralnym. Niemniej przeprowadzona przez nas analiza nie daje jednoznacznej odpowiedzi na pytanie, który system opodatkowania jest lepszy. Każdy z nich ma swoje zarówno mocne, jak i słabsze strony. Wybór zależy od czynników społecznych i decyzji politycznych, które mogą – ale nie muszą – być pochodną potrzeb finansowych jednostek samorządu terytorialnego.