臺灣房屋稅負分配與稅基計算因素之影響

Distribution of House Tax Burden in Taiwan and Its Influencing Factors

房屋稅為地方政府重要的財政收入來源，同時也能作為政府干預房地產市場、緩解貧富不均惡化、實現居住正義等政策目標的手段。然而臺灣房屋稅之稅負不易評估，除資料取得困難外，其計算方式繁複，除稅率外，亦牽涉標準單價、折舊率、折舊年數及街路等級調整率等房屋特性，且各地方政府規定不一。過往實證研究因此難以針對臺灣房屋稅稅負之分配與影響因素進行整體的比較與分析。
本研究使用財政部財稅資料庫2008至2021年之房屋稅資料，檢視房屋稅於家戶間的分布態樣，並進一步分析房屋稅基計算因子對家戶應納稅額的影響。研究結果顯示，臺灣房屋稅之稅負分配整體呈現累退性，即高所得家庭需負擔之單位房屋稅額比例相對較低。且在控制房屋特性後，累退性更加顯著，導致隨著家戶年所得或持有房屋數的增加，單位房屋稅額反而下降的現象。
本研究也指出，房屋稅基計算因子，如房屋標準單價與房屋街路等級調整率，雖理論上需反映房屋價值，也在房屋稅額計算中扮演重要角色，但因歷年調整幅度有限，未能有效反映區域經濟和建造成本的變動，是現今稅負偏低的主因之一。然而透過分量迴歸結果，可觀察到在不同分量下，其關聯性存在異質性。位於高分量，即房屋稅額較高之家戶，其稅負與多數稅基變項（房屋特性）之關聯性卻較低，因此房屋稅基計算因子的調整，對於此類家戶單位稅負之影響也將較小。本研究成果為瞭解臺灣房屋稅的現況提供了實證基礎，並可供未來稅制改革之方向參考。

House tax is a significant source of revenue for local governments in Taiwan and can serve as a policy tool to intervene in the real estate market, mitigate income inequality, and promote housing justice. However, assessing the tax burden of Taiwan’s house tax is challenging due to data accessibility issues and the complexity of its calculation method. In addition to tax rates, factors such as standard unit prices, depreciation rates, depreciation years, and street level adjustment rates influence house tax calculations, and regulations vary across local governments. Consequently, previous empirical studies have yet to conduct comprehensive analyses of the distribution and influencing factors of house tax burden in Taiwan.
This study utilizes the Ministry of Finance’s tax data from 2008 to 2021 to examine the distribution of house tax among households and further analyzes the impact of house tax base calculation factors on household tax liabilities. The results show that the house tax burden in Taiwan is overall regressive, with higher-income households bearing a relatively lower property tax amount per square meter of housing. This regressiveness becomes more pronounced when housing characteristics are controlled for, leading to a decrease in per-unit house tax as household annual income or number of properties owned increases.
This study also highlights that house tax base calculation factors, such as standard unit prices and street classification adjustment rates—which are intended to reflect housing value and play an important role in tax calculation—have not been adequately adjusted over the years to reflect changes in regional economics and construction costs. This is one of the primary reasons for the currently low tax burden. Moreover, through quantile regression analysis, the study finds heterogeneity in the relationship between tax burden and tax base variables at different quantiles. Households in higher quantiles, with higher house tax liabilities, exhibit a weaker correlation between their tax burden and most tax base variables (house characteristics). Therefore, adjustments to house tax base calculation factors would have a smaller impact on the per-unit tax burden of such households. The findings provide an empirical basis for understanding the current state of property taxation in Taiwan and offer insights for future tax reform