Property Tax Regressivity, the Case of Québec

Abstract

Three diverging interpretations of the property tax dominate the standard economic literature: the benefit view considers it meaningless to assess a distributive profile for the property tax; the capital-tax view assumes a progressive profile; and the excise-tax view assumes a regressive profile. This article discusses these views with theoretical and empirical arguments and defends the excise-tax view. Then, the distributive profile of the property tax in Québec is assessed thanks to a rich administrative database. The property tax appears very regressive. In addition, no general pattern appears depending on the size of the urban zones. At the opposite, property tax-to-income ratios depend steeply on the household composition, because of the economies of scale in housing consumption: they are larger for singles than couples (and even larger for aged singles) and lower for households with children than without children.