Three decades of research: Housing subsidies and taxes
To celebrate VATT’s 30th anniversary we are publishing a series of texts presenting our core fields of research. In this second part of the series, we are focusing on our research into housing subsidies and taxes.
A home is the single most important purchase for most households, and homes account for most of the household wealth. Moreover, when buying a home, we do not only purchase a set of rooms but also choose a neighbourhood and local services. The state and municipalities wield a great deal of influence over housing markets in many ways. The purpose of housing subsidies is to ensure that people with low income can also afford reasonable-quality housing. Taxes and tax deductions related to home ownership also play a role when household decision making.
Researchers at VATT have been studying the Finnish housing market for 15 years and our focus has been on the assessing the impacts of policy measures. We have been studying the costs of building affordable housing, impacts of housing allowance on rents, and impacts taxation on the housing market. We are currently studying how the changes in real estate taxation impact housing prices and how the tax impacts different population groups.
To mark its anniversary year, VATT has produced a compilation of its studies of the impacts of housing subsidies and taxation: vatt.fi/en/housing-research
Housing policy
Local public finance and provision of public services
News
Uutiset ja tiedotteet
VATT
VATT 30 years
housing
housing benefit
housing markets
housing policy
property prices
rent
tax subsidies
