| Capital gains taxes are likely to distort the market and resource allocations through so called “lock-in” effect, meaning discouraging trade transactions that trigger the tax payments. When it comes to agricultural land, the lock-in effect implies that the land ownership and active farming deviate from each other and, as a result, land tenancy increases. Increasing land tenancy and land tenure insecurity incur a significant social cost, because they deplete productivity of land by discouraging and delaying irreversible land improvements that would be necessary for maintaining land productivity. This study estimates the fiscal effects of reduction in capital gains taxes imposed on land sales and provides grounds for optimizing the tax scheme. The results... |
