Legal and Economic Features of Real Estate Taxation Systems in European Union (Selected Problems)

In this paper an attempt has been made to characterize legal and economic determinants of property taxation systems in the European Union with particular emphasis on the fiscal and non-fiscal functions of propertytax. In property taxation systems in European Union there are no unified solutions specific to each country. In specific national tax systems, the components of the tax structure (especially the tax base, rates, exemptions and tax breaks) were formed by socio-historical conditions, which caused that in some countries there are very characteristic solutions, not existing in other tax systems. However, there are some common legal and economic features that are specifi c to modern property taxation systems. A common element that combines modern tax systems is that the basis (with few exceptions) of real estate taxation is its value (variously defined).