A recent national survey, undertaken with government authorities, politicians, urban economists, scholars and fiscal experts, has been used as the basis to define the main themes of the Seminar.

Main Sessions

Session 1: International Lessons in Property Taxation, including a Latin American panel on property taxes.

Session 2: Critical Issues in Property Taxation in Brazil, including a round table, composed of Municipal Secretaries of Finance, aiming at identifying critical factors in the property tax administration as well as opportunities for improving the tax system.

Session 3: Distribution of the Tax Burden in the light of the Ability-to-pay Principle

Session 4: Best Assessment Practices

Session 5: Information Management and the Municipal Cadastre

Session 6: Strategies for Collection, Enforcement and Education

Session 7: Implementation Issues for a Property Tax Reform and Revisions

Discussion Groups

"Opportunities for Improving the Equity and Efficiency in the Property Tax Administration"

The participants, divided into groups, will have the opportunity to discuss polemic issues concerning property taxes. Conclusions of each Discussion Group will be presented to all participants. The following specific topics will be discussed:

Topic 1: Importance of progressivity in the distribution of the tax burden: Validity, feasibility (legal and acceptability) and results

Topic 2: Extrafiscal potential of the property tax: Urban land use and access

Topic 3: Implementation of a multipurpose technical cadastre for the assessment, compilation and enforcement of the property tax, and urban management

Topic 4: Directions to improving assessment for taxation purposes (assessment practices and cycles, and the establishment of standards of assessment performance)

Topic 5: The participation of community in the tax administration: Directions towards developing a program of access to information

Topic 6: Interaction among different agents in property taxation: Executive, Legislative and Judiciary branches of government and community

Topic 7: Co-operation among municipalities aimed at achieving common goals in property taxation

Schedule

Registration: April 27^th (8:00 pm)

Opening Cocktail: April 27^th (9:00-11:00 pm)

Seminar: April 28^th, 29^th and 30^th (8:30 am)

Closing Dinner: April 30^th

Course: May 1^st and 2^nd