Revenue Loss of the Municipalities in Property Tax: Case of Sanliurfa Municipality

Various problems are encountered during the collection of property tax in our country. The most important problem is that municipalities are unable to assess the value of the real estate subject to property tax accurately and in a realistic manner. Usually there is a huge difference between the taxable value and the current market value of the real estate. This difference amounts to a revenue loss for the municipality. In the present study analyzing revenue loss in property tax, seven out of seventy neighborhoods within the borders of Sanliurfa Municipality were selected as sample. Taxable values and current market values of the apartments selected in these neighborhoods with random sampling were compared. According to the results obtained, it appears that the public is unable to get the share of the urban income at the desired level not only because the taxable value is quite low despite the fact that the assessment committee does make increases every year but also because of the rapid increase in urban income.