Text file: 3152.txt
author: jure miki
downvotes: 4
end consideration date: 2012-06-12
id: '3152'
number comments: 4
number views: 1987
proposal type: Competent authority response
response: "Response from the Ministry of Finance\nThe current legislation in the field\
  \ of taxation of real estate ownership in Slovenia comprises a tax on the property\
  \ of natural persons and a compensation for the use of building land, which can\
  \ be characterised as a kind of property tax.  The property tax is levied on immovable\
  \ property owned or occupied by natural persons who own buildings, parts of buildings,\
  \ dwellings, garages and rest or recreational premises, whether they use it themselves\
  \ or rent it out. For residential property, an exemption is provided which is partly\
  \ in line with the proposed measure: dwellings of up to 160 m\xB2 used by the owner\
  \ himself or by a member of his family are not taxed. Property tax is therefore\
  \ effectively payable on dwellings which are not used by the owner and a family\
  \ member (rented out, empty, etc...).   In addition, no property tax is payable\
  \ on agricultural outbuildings, on business premises used by the owner or occupier\
  \ for business purposes, on dwellings of agricultural taxpayers who are themselves\
  \ or their family members insured for pensions and invalidity benefits on the basis\
  \ of their agricultural income, on buildings declared a cultural or historical monument\
  \ and on buildings that cannot be used for objective reasons. The tax rates are\
  \ progressive according to the assessed value of the property and vary according\
  \ to the purpose of use.  The building land use charge is a levy on building land\
  \ in towns and urban settlements, in areas designated for housing and other complex\
  \ construction, in areas for which a spatial implementation plan has been adopted\
  \ and in other areas equipped with a water and electricity network. The determination\
  \ of the areas for which compensation is payable and the amount of the compensation\
  \ shall be the responsibility of the municipalities, taking into account in particular\
  \ the provision of building land with communal and other facilities and the possibility\
  \ of connection to such facilities, the location and purpose and the rational use\
  \ of the building land, the exceptional advantages in relation to the generation\
  \ of income in economic activities and the criteria for exemption from the payment\
  \ of compensation for the use of building land. The person liable for the payment\
  \ of the compensation is the direct user of the land or of the building or part\
  \ of the building (the holder of the right of disposal or the owner, the tenant\
  \ of the flat or business premises, the holder of the right of occupancy). The current\
  \ legislation does not provide for a systematic differentiation between occupied\
  \ and empty dwellings.  The new tax legislation, which is still under preparation,\
  \ is aimed at a fairer and more consistent regime for the taxation of immovable\
  \ property. Among the proposals are several solutions, including the introduction\
  \ of a higher tax rate for so-called non-residential properties (properties in which\
  \ the owner has no registered permanent residence) which are also not rented out,\
  \ i.e. empty. Your proposal for higher taxation of empty properties is therefore\
  \ already on the table as a possible solution, but there are no final decisions\
  \ on property taxation yet, so we cannot give you a more concrete answer to your\
  \ initiative at this point in time.  We would also like to point out that the problem\
  \ of empty homes is a relative one and that the introduction of your proposed measure\
  \ alone is not expected to bring about any significant change in the housing market.\
  \ According to the 2011 housing statistics report of the Statistical Office of the\
  \ Republic of Slovenia, there are about 175 000 empty dwellings in Slovenia, i.e.\
  \ dwellings in which no one is permanently or temporarily registered. This figure\
  \ represents around 20% of the total housing stock in Slovenia, but the SURS data\
  \ show that just over 40% of these are not equipped with basic infrastructure (at\
  \ least without one of the basic infrastructure elements: toilet, bathroom, heating,\
  \ electricity, water supply) or are used for holiday purposes. It follows from the\
  \ above that only about 60% of the empty dwellings can be activated in one way or\
  \ another, half of them in multi-apartment buildings and the rest in single-apartment\
  \ houses, only half of which are equipped with basic infrastructure, and most of\
  \ them are located in non-urban settlements and have no house number, which raises\
  \ the question of their habitability. In view of the above, it can be concluded\
  \ that in the urban settlements where the housing problem is most acute, there are\
  \ only around 50,000 available empty dwellings for which it would make sense to\
  \ introduce some kind of 'occupancy' incentive."
response date: 2013-02-04
response due date: null
sent date: 2012-05-14
title: I propose a high tax on all empty properties!
upvotes: 23
url: https://predlagam.vladi.si/predlog/3152
