Summary:

The employment of property taxation is the perhaps most controversial policy issue to be
handled by Norwegian local authorities. The municipalities enjoy full autonomy to decide
whether to introduce property taxation or not. The local municipalities also decides how to
implement the property tax, an issue which is of controversy is the valuation rules, or how to
value each properties market value. The market value is the goal for the valuation rules, and
similar properties regarding physical attributes shall be treated the same way.
In Kragerø municipality on the south east coast of Norway, has there been controversy
regarding different valuation rules on how to find the market value. Residential houses have
been valuated after “sjablong” Sjablong means that some criteria’s regarding the property is
decided before valuation an finding the market value. In Kragerø example price per square
meter is NOK 7 500 and NOK 10 000 for single houses and apartments. And single houses
have a land price of NOK 200 000 for all. Kragerø is an important holiday destination,
especially in the summer, and there are at lot of expensive cottages there. Cottages which
mostly not are owned by residentials. Kragerø decided to use an alternative method to
valuate market value on these cottages. They called it “skjønnstaksering” which means that
they employed a private valuation firm, to use their knowledge based on many years
practice. And valuation on cottages was therefore more subjective, based on the valuer’s
experience.
My main goal with this paper is to find out if there is proposjonality between residential
houses and cottages in the relationship tax value and market value. Is residential houses
discriminated, when it comes the relationship between tax value and realized price? In my
data material, I also have some other factors or variables which can explain both tax value
and market value. My second goal is therefore to find out if my variables can explain the
outcome of tax value and market value.
The theory in my paper is the different political principles for taxation or building a tax
system. I also bring in legitimacy theory, and the aim with that is to confront Kragerø
municipality political leader - the mayor, with my statistical findings according to my main
goal. Kragerø municipality has decided and implemented the property taxation, and its
natural to confront them with the results of their policy.
My findings after statistical analyzing the relationship between tax value and realized price
related to residential houses and cottages, is that cottages and especially expensive
cottages, has come best out of the valuation. And a trend in my material is that the taxation
in Kragerø is slightly regressive. I also found no statistical evidence that the other variables in
my material have had an impact on tax value and prices realized.
Regarding political principles with taxation, I found that the debate in Kragerø in relationship
with property taxation has had few principle supporters. The debate has had a local view,
and the seven political principles of taxation are rarely known at all.
When it comes to the question of legitimacy, and the legitimacy of the property tax after my
findings, the mayor was a bit concerned about the legal legitimacy. Especially concerned
with my found, that the taxation has a regressive tendens.