ISP Working Paper Number 05-08

An Analysis of the Jamaican Land Value Tax Rate Structure

David L. Sjoquist, March 2005

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Abstract:

In 1957, Jamaica converted its property tax from one based on the capital value of land and all improvements, to one based on just the unimproved value of land, i.e., to a land value tax.2 In 2002, Jamaica revalued all parcels, the first revaluation in 9 years. In response to the six-fold increase in property values, Jamaica reduced the property tax rates of its progressive rate structure, and added a set of property tax caps. As a part of a overall review of the Jamaican tax system, we reviewed the Jamaican land value tax, focusing specifically on the property tax rate structure. In this paper we report on an analysis of the property tax rate structure, focusing specially on options for reforming the rate structure. The paper proceeds as follows: we first provide a brief synopsis of Jamaica’s land value tax and then a discussion of its current tax rate structure. We then turn to an analysis of options for reform of the rate structure in sections IV-VI. A summary and conclusion section completes the paper.