英文摘要 |
In Taiwan, the housing price has been escalating quickly since 2003 in spite of there being an over-supply of housing. One of the main reasons for this phenomenon is the serious underestimation of real estate prices by the government. This results in the taxes either on short-term trades or on holding real estate being very low. Since the inauguration of the new excise tax on short-term real estate trades in June 2011 by the Taiwan government, an inquiry has been made into the effectiveness of this new tax. This paper answers the question by examining the impact of the new tax on short-term real estate trades and income (or wealth). The empirical results show that, first, short-term real estate trades have significantly contributed to the income and wealth of their traders. Second, the new excise tax has significantly reduced short-term real estate trades and their gains, especially for high frequency traders. Third, those traders who are paying the new excise tax have higher income and are wealthier. This implies that the new excise tax complies with the principle of taxing based on the ability to pay. Finally, because the tax is applicable only to trades with a holding period of less than two years, wealthier traders have become better at prolonging their holding period to evade the tax. This has curtailed the effectiveness of the new excise tax. |