Real estate tax for regions and municipal formations: foreign practice and development prospects in Russia

Aim. The purpose of this study is the need in Russia to introduce a unified real estate tax. Methodology. Determining the tax base of real estate in foreign countries is based on two commonly used methods, which include the capital value of real estate and income from the property. That is, in the first case, the tax base is determined by the value of the land and all buildings on it, and in the other case, the base is the income received during a certain period by the owner of the property. The article uses the following research methods: theoretical method, classification, comparative analysis. Results. There are several reasons that support the need for a property tax. First of all, a large part of the local budget is filled by real estate taxation, the proceeds of which go towards creating or updating infrastructure. The real estate tax performs a redistributive function, that is, wealthier citizens with expensive real estate pay a larger tax compared to owners of less valuable real estate. In addition, real estate taxation makes it possible to tax income that cannot be used to calculate income taxes. Having studied both approaches to determining the tax base, we can highlight their advantages and disadvantages. Therefore, the advantage of using capital value as the basis for taxation is that this method is more closely related to the wealth being taxed, which helps to increase the progressivity of the tax system. And the accumulated income method of taxing estates is treated as an additional tax on income, while the other approach is treated as a tax on wealth. Research implications the features of calculating real estate tax in the USA, Great Britain, and Germany are considered, the relevant regulations are studied, and conclusions are drawn about what elements of foreign taxation systems in the matter of real estate can be introduced into the Russian system of real estate taxation.