Politika daně z nemovitých věcí v okresních městech

This diploma thesis examines the relation between political orientation at the municipal level politics and changes in property tax across a selected sample of fourteen cities in the Czech Republic. The aim of the thesis is to verify whether the political orientation of municipal councils influences the levels of local coefficients and the resulting tax burden on taxpayers, or whether these changes are influenced more by economic and budgetary factors. The theoretical section defines property tax, its legislative development, and the competences of municipalities in this area, as well as the theory of second order elections, public choice theory, and public finance. The practical section of the thesis first employs multiple regression analysis to assess the relation between the proportion of right-wing council members and changes in the tax burden, taking economic indicators into account. The subsequent comparative multi-case analysis of fourteen cities is based on a content analysis of generally binding ordinances, municipal media outputs, and other publicly available sources. The results of the study do not demonstrate a statistically significant relationship between political orientation and property tax neither between property tax nor economic factors. Municipal decision-making during the period under review cannot be explained solely in binary terms as politically or fiscally motivated. Determinants included campaign promises, efforts to balance the budget, the use of reserves or cash, as well as errors in generally binding ordinances and environmental protection.