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Rates are a type of
property tax A property tax or millage rate is an ad valorem tax on the value of a property.In the OECD classification scheme, tax on property includes "taxes on immovable property or net wealth, taxes on the change of ownership of property through inher ...
system in the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...
, and in places with systems deriving from the British one, the proceeds of which are used to fund
local government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of public administration within a particular sovereign state. This particular usage of the word government refers specifically to a level of administration that is both geographically-loc ...
. Some other countries have taxes with a more or less comparable role, like
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
's .


Rates by country


Australia

Local government authorities levy annual taxes, which are called council rates or shire rates. The basis on which these charges can be calculated varies from state to state, but is usually based in some way on the value of property. Even within states, individual local government authorities can often choose the specific basis of rates – for example, it may be on the rental value of houses (as in
Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to t ...
) or on the unimproved land value (as in
New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...
). These rateable valuations are usually determined by a
statutory authority A statutory body or statutory authority is a body set up by law (statute) that is authorised to implement certain legislation on behalf of the relevant country or state, sometimes by being empowered or delegated to set rules (for example re ...
, and are subject to periodic revision.


Canada

Rates are referred to as property taxes in Canada. These taxes are collected primarily by municipal governments on residential, industrial and commercial properties and are their main source of funding.


Hong Kong

Levied on domestic property as well as non-domestic premises. Prior to 2000, it was used to fund municipal services, the responsibility of the now-abolished
Urban Council The Urban Council (UrbCo) was a municipal council in Hong Kong responsible for municipal services on Hong Kong Island and in Kowloon (including New Kowloon). These services were provided by the council's executive arm, the Urban Servic ...
and
Regional Council Regional Council may refer to: * Regional Council (Hong Kong), disbanded in 1999 ** Regional Council (constituency) Regional council may refer to: * Regional council (Cameroon) * Regional council (France), the elected assembly of a region of Fran ...
, through the Urban Services Department and Regional Services Department. The revenue now goes to the
Treasury A treasury is either *A government department related to finance and taxation, a finance ministry. *A place or location where treasure, such as currency or precious items are kept. These can be state or royal property, church treasure or i ...
. The bill is issued quarterly.


Ireland

Business rates and domestic rates existed in Ireland as part of the
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was a sovereign state in the British Isles that existed between 1801 and 1922, when it included all of Ireland. It was established by the Acts of Union 1800, which merged the Kingdom of Grea ...
and were retained after independence. Business or commercial rates are still collected.
Fianna Fáil Fianna Fáil (, ; meaning 'Soldiers of Destiny' or 'Warriors of Fál'), officially Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party ( ga, audio=ga-Fianna Fáil.ogg, Fianna Fáil – An Páirtí Poblachtánach), is a conservative and Christia ...
promised to abolish domestic rates in its 1977 general election manifesto, won a landslide, and implemented this with effect from 1979.
Local authorities Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of public administration within a particular sovereign state. This particular usage of the word government refers specifically to a level of administration that is both geographically-loca ...
lost 33% of their budget and made cutbacks. From the mid 1980s until 1997, most levied "water charges" to make up part of the shortfall. In 2013 a Local Property Tax (LPT) was introduced, which has been compared to the reintroduction of domestic rates; one difference is that LPT is collected centrally by the
Revenue Commissioners The Revenue Commissioners ( ga, Na Coimisinéirí Ioncaim), commonly called Revenue, is the Irish Government agency responsible for customs, excise, taxation and related matters. Though Revenue can trace itself back to predecessors (with the ...
before being disbursed to the local authorities.


Israel

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
has a similar tax known as ''arnona'' that goes back to the days of the
British Mandate of Palestine British Mandate of Palestine or Palestine Mandate most often refers to: * Mandate for Palestine: a League of Nations mandate under which the British controlled an area which included Mandatory Palestine and the Emirate of Transjordan. * Mandatory P ...
. It is levied by the municipality (or, in smaller localities, by the ''moatza ezorit'', i.e., Regional Council) based (currently) on the square meterage of dwelling or business. Specific rates vary widely among municipalities, with
Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
and
Rehovot Rehovot ( he, רְחוֹבוֹת ''Rəḥōvōt'', ar, رحوڤوت ''Reḥūfūt'') is a city in the Central District of Israel, about south of Tel Aviv. In it had a population of . Etymology Israel Belkind, founder of the Bilu movement, ...
having the highest rates in the country. In rental dwellings, tenants (rather than owners) generally pay the arnona. Single parents and some forms of economic hardship qualify for discounts or even exemptions.


New Zealand

In
New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island coun ...
, rates have provided the major source of revenue for territorial authorities since the late-19th century. Rates are basically a tax on real-estate property. , rates made up 56% of local-authority operating-revenue. Almost all property owners in New Zealand pay rates; those who do so are referred to as ''ratepayers''. People who rent property do not pay rates directly, but property owners will take account of the cost of rates when they set the rent. As a result, those who rent properties also have an interest in the level of rates, as well as in the services provided by councils using these rates. Some types of property are exempt from rate levies - government land and rail land, for example. Other categories of property may possibly only be rated at 50% (land used for some types of sports purposes). Māori land - particularly where ownership and therefore liability for rates are hard to establish - can also get special treatment. Exceptions are listed in Schedule 1 Part 1 of the Local Government (Rating) Act 2002. Territorial authorities may assess property values in three different ways – on the basis of land, annual or capital value – using valuations prepared in accordance with the Rating Valuations Act 1998. The valuation process is overseen by the Valuer-General. Each local authority, after consulting with their community, can decide which basis to use. Councils can use a mix of these different methodologies when assessing rates based on the value of holdings, for example land value for its general rate and capital value for a targeted rate. Councils can also levy flat charges per rating unit (i.e. each lot of land, with some exceptions where multiple adjacent lots may be considered one rating unit if in common ownership, or where multiple dwelling-units are on a single lot) - generally called a uniform annual general charge. Other methodologies also exist, such as a charge per toilet bowl or urinal, or a water charge per cubic metre of water supplied. The Local Government (Rating) Act 2002 See http://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/2002/0006/latest/DLM131394.html? for the most recent reprint of the Act is the governing legislation and provides a number of options for setting rates, such that local authorities can use combinations of general rates, targeted rates and/or uniform annual general charges.


United Kingdom

Rates in the United Kingdom are a tax on property used to provide some of the funding of local government. Domestic rates, split into regional and district rates, are currently collected in
Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label=Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is #Descriptions, variously described as ...
. They were collected in England and Wales before 1990 and in Scotland before 1989. Outside Northern Ireland
Council Tax Council Tax is a local taxation system used in England, Scotland and Wales. It is a tax on domestic property, which was introduced in 1993 by the Local Government Finance Act 1992, replacing the short-lived Community Charge, which in turn re ...
is collected instead of domestic rates. Business rates are collected throughout the United Kingdom, with different systems in
England and Wales England and Wales () is one of the three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It covers the constituent countries England and Wales and was formed by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. The substantive law of the jurisdiction is En ...
, in
Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label=Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is #Descriptions, variously described as ...
and in
Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...
.


United States

In the US, real estate taxes which are based on a percentage of the property's actual or nominal value are referred to as "property taxes". The term "rates" is not used in this context. Property taxes are the prime funding method for local government (i.e., counties, cities, townships, etc.), and are normally paid by the property owner, regardless of whether the property owner lives on the property.


See also

*
Property tax A property tax or millage rate is an ad valorem tax on the value of a property.In the OECD classification scheme, tax on property includes "taxes on immovable property or net wealth, taxes on the change of ownership of property through inher ...
*
Tax bracket Tax brackets are the divisions at which tax rates change in a progressive tax system (or an explicitly regressive tax system, though that is rarer). Essentially, tax brackets are the cutoff values for taxable income—income past a certain poin ...
, for income and not for property value


References


Sources

; Books *


External links

* *{{Cite EB1911, wstitle=Rate , short=x Property taxes Local taxation in the United Kingdom Local taxation in Hong Kong Taxation in New Zealand Taxation in Israel Taxation in Australia Local taxation in the United States Real estate valuation