About Land Value Increment Tax
The land value increment tax was designed to impose a heavy burden on the natural incremental value of land for the purpose of curbing speculation and monopolies in land It is based on a concept contained in the theoretical framework of "Equalization of land Rights" advocated by Dr.Sun Yat-Sen, the founding father of the ROC. The said theory contends that the natural value increment of land is attributable to social development rather than the result of labor or capital investment and, therefore, it should be shared by the general public through the mechanism of the land value increment tax. From this, it is clear that the land value increment tax of our country is not an ordinary tax but a tax with the specific purpose to meet the specific need of a particular period. In other countries it is collected either as a capital gains tax or as regular income tax. However, in our country, it is labelled as a land value increment tax with the following particulars:
A. Tax Scope
Land value increment tax is collected on the total incremental value at the time of the transfer of the title of land which has previously been set at a certain value. For land That has a Dien Right establishes, the original land owner (or the Dien Right assignor) must make prepayment of land value increment tax and the said tax paid is refunded without interest when be redeems the land.
B. Taxpayers
The taxpayers of land value increment tax are as follows:
- For land transferred with compensation, the original title owner.
- For land transferred without compensation, the acquired title owner.
- For land with a Dien Right established, The Dien Right assignor. In the above provisions, "transfer with compensation" means sale-purchase, exchange, government acquisition or requisition at value.
C. The Basic for Land Value
In terns of its nature, the land value increment tax is a form of income tax and thus, in principle, costs and fees should be deducted to get the net taxable amount. For the convenience of the taxpayer in their declaration of present value of the land being transferred, and for the purpose of minimizing harassment when the collection authority reviews the present declared value, the government announces a present value once a year to be used as the standard present value of transfer for declaration and review. The calculation of the incremental value differs according to these categories; regular land, government acquired land and land auctioned by the courts of law. Their respective details are as follows:
- Regular land
For the transfer of regular land, the government-announced present value at the time the owner-taxpayer makes the transfer declaration or the Dien declaration shall be used in the calculation of the total value increment of the land in question. But in case the declared actual transfer value of land exceeds the announced present value, the declared transfer value shall be used as the basic of calculation.
- Government acquired purchased land
For land acquired or purchased at a value approved by the county (or city) government, the basic of calculation shall be the lower of the price actually paid by the government or the government-announced value at the date of acquisition.
- Court auctioned land
For land auctioned through the courts of law, the basic of calculation shall be the lower of the actual auctioned price or the government-announced value at the date of the auction.
D. Deduction of the Increment Amount
To get the net increment value, the following itemized amounts shall be deducted from the respective aforementioned calculation and the balance shall be the net increment amount.
- Where there is no transfer after the first governmental decree of specific land value, this original decreed value shall be deducted.
- Where the land has been transferred after the first governmental decree of specific land value, the assessed present value at the payment of land value increment tax for the last transfer shall be deducted.
- The total expense paid by the title owner for improvement of the land, including fees paid for public construction and fees paid for the land consolidation, and the announced present value of donated land at donation, if the land was donated without compensation due to change in land zones which required changes in the percentage of land to be used for public facilities, if any, shall be deducted.
- During the period of the ownership of the land in question, any supplemental payment of land value tax paid, consequential to reassessment of the land value, pro rated to the part of the land being transferred, shall be deducted from the land value increment tax payable, shall be deducted from the land value increment tax payable, but the total deduction of this item shall be limited to 5% of the land value increment tax payable for an instant land transfer.
When calculating the net incremental value of land, in addition to the deduction's in items (b), (c) above, any change in general consumer prices shall be taken into account and adjusted by the consumer price index announced by the government to derive the net land incremental amount. The formula for the calculation of the natural value increment of the land is as follows:
Amount of natural land value increment=declared present value at the transfer of the land-the original decreed value or the assessed present value
At the least transfer of land *consumer price index/100-(land
Improvement cost + construction benefit fee paid +fee paid for land
consolidation + the announced present value of donated land)
E. Structure of the Tax Rates
Land value increment tax is levied with a progressive tax rate in multiples of the original decreed land value and can be termed "multiple cumulative". Its tax rate structure is as follows:
|
Category
|
Formula for Calculation
|
| General Land |
First Class |
Tax payable = Total land value incremental [Portion exceeding the original decreed value or the previous transfer value (adjusted according to the CPI of Taiwan) is less than 100%] X Rate (20%) |
| Second Class |
Tax Payable = Total land value incremental [Portion exceeding the original decreed value or the previous transfer value (adjusted according to the CPI of Taiwan) is more than 100% but less than 200%] X{Rate (30%) – [(30%-20%) X Deduction rate]}– Cumulative difference (the original decreed value or the previous transfer value adjusted according to the CPI of Taiwan X A)
Note: If the original owner holds the land for not more than 20 years, there is no tax deduction and A is 0.10.
If the original owner holds the land for more than 20 years, the deduction rate is 20% and A is 0.08.
If the original owner holds the land for more than 30 years, the deduction rate is 30% and A is 0.07.
If the original owner holds the land for more than 40 years, the deduction rate is 40% and A is 0.06. |
| Third Class |
Tax payable = Total land value incremental [Portion exceeding the original decreed value or the previous transfer value (adjusted according to the CPI of Taiwan) is more than 200%] X {Rate (40%) – [(40%-20%) X Deduction rate]} – Cumulative difference (the original decreed value or the previous transfer value adjusted according to the CPI of Taiwan X B)
Note: If the original owner holds the land for not more than 20 years, there is no tax deduction and B is 0.30.
If the original owner holds the land for more than 20 years, the deduction rate is 20% and B is 0.24.
If the original owner holds the land for more than 30 years, the deduction rate is 30% and A is 0.21.
If the original owner holds the land for more than 40 years, the deduction rate is 40% and A is 0.18. |
| Residential land for self-use |
Assessed tax = Total land value incremental X Rate (10%) |
F. Privileged Rate
If the sale of self-use residential land by the title owner satisfies the following conditions, the land value increment tax there of shall be collected at a privileged rate of 10%.
- Urban land not exceeding three acres and non-urban land not exceeding seven acres.
- Either the title owner himself or his spouse (or herself or her spouse), or lineal descendant or ascendant or member of the house entitled to maintenance is living on the land with household registration duly entered.
- The parcel of land in question has not been rented or used for business purposes in the last full year before transfer.
The title owner may apply for and enjoy this privileged rate of land value increment tax only once in his (or her) lifetime. The sale of self-use residential land will not qualify for the above-mentioned privileged rate if the attached building has been completed for less than one year and its value does not exceed 10% of the announced present value of the land.
G. Reductions and Exemptions
The provisions for reductions and exemptions for land value increment tax are as follows:
- Public land sold by any level of government or land transferred due to succession shall be fully exempted.
- Land bestowed by or to any level of government shall be fully exempted.
- Land requisitioned by the government shall be fully exempted.
- A reduction of 40% is granted to land being transferred for the very first time after any consolidation of the land in question. However, this reduction shall only apply to land rezoned for consolidation after the first decree of land value and transferred after the implementation of the Statute for the Equalization of Urban Land Rights.
- At the time of land consolidation, if land used for public facilities and land used for offsetting the construction fees or cost of land consolidation and interest on a loan made are therefore undertaken of and by the land owner according to the provisions of law, then the land in question shall be fully exempted. Land not eligible for the allotment of land value difference due to its small and narrow size resulting in a consequential exclusion from distribution shall be fully exempted.
- In the severing of commonly owned land, the value of which has been secured by each owner after the severing, if such value is equal to the original pro rated value, it shall be fully exempted.
- When agricultural land in use for agricultural purposes is transferred to person the increment tax there of may not be taxable.
- When a productive enterprise has moved to an industrial zone, the increment tax payable for sale or transfer of its original factory land shall be subjected to the rate of the lowest tax bracket.
- Land donated for the purposes of establishing social welfare enterprises or private schools in accordance with laws shall be fully exempted.
- Land bestowed to a spouse shall not be taxable.
- Land reserved for public facilities pursuant to the Act of Urban Planning, which is transferred before requisition, shall be exempted.
H. Refund of Tax in Case of Reacquisition of Land
When a land owner who has sold his land or has had his land requisitioned by the government reacquires the land within two years following the completion of the transfer registration or following the day the land value compensation was received and the reacquired land satisfies one of the following provisions, if the value of the reacquired land is in excess of the balance of the original land value sold or the compensated land value less than the land value increment tax paid, the land owner may apply to competent tax collection authority for refund of the portion of land value increment tax collection authority for refund of the portion of land value increment tax paid to make up the difference to be paid for the reacquisition of the land.
- Residential land for self-use After self-used residential land has been sold or requisitioned, the owner acquires a parcel of urban land not exceeding 3 ares or non-urban land not exceeding 7 ares, also for his own residential use.
- Land used for a self-operated factory After self-operated factory land has been sold or requisitioned, the original owner acquires another parcel of land for factory building within any industrial district as designated by city planning or government categorization.
- Self-tilled agricultural land After self-tilled agricultural land has been sold or requisitioned, the owner acquires another parcel of agricultural land and retains it for self-tilling.
- When a land owner sells his land or has his land requisitioned by the government within 2 Years after acquiring other land, he is entitled to apply for the above-mentioned refund. Provision (a) and (d) will not qualify for the above-mentioned refund if the land sold or requisitioned was rented or used for business purposes in the last full year before transfer. The original sale value means other land value used for the calculation of the land value increment tax at the said transfer.
I. Limitations of Tax Refunds in Land Reacquisition
If the land value increment tax has been refunded to a land owner due to reacquisition, and the land owner transfers the reacquired land within five years from the day of completing the transfer registration for a reacquisition, in addition to the land value increment tax to be paid for the subsequent transfer, he must also pay back the tax refunded. A similar return of tax refunded will apply when the land reacquired is being used for purposes other than the original purposes.
J .Penalty Provisions
- Anyone who is responsible to pay the tax ("the Taxpayer") or who is responsible by law to pay on behalf of the Taxpayer must pay the tax in full on or before the last payment date as designated on the tax payment notice; otherwise a late payment fee of l% will be imposed for every three full days beyond the deadline, and if the payment is not completed within 30 days, the matter shall be referred to the courts for enforcement﹒
- When a Taxpayer attempts to evade or reduce his tax payment obligation by means of modifying ( mutation ) , hiding or not reporting to the competent authority the disappearance of otherwise qualifying conditions for reduction or exemption, he shall pay the balance evaded or lessened and shall be charged a fine equal to three times the amount in question as a penalty．
- After a sale-purchase transaction of land, such land must be duly registered to reflect such change of title before a further transfer; otherwise, a fine of 2% of the reselling value of the later transfer shall be imposed as a penalty．