Who Supports a Property Tax in Croatia?

Abstract

This article analyses public support for a property tax in Croatia. Who supports this tax and who opposes it? The analysis uses public opinion polls conducted by the Faculty of Political Science in 2016 and 2020. This makes it possible to compare the structure of public opinion before and after the large public debate from 2017 which resulted in a postponement of the tax. The article relies on previous work that showed a link between party identification and support for property taxation and extends this analysis with new data. The article shows that this link still existed in 2016 but that it disappeared in 2020. The article also examines the nature of citizens' economic views and asks if a new liberal orientation arose in the structure of public opinion in Croatia, following the debate on the property tax. The analysis suggests that moderately left-wing opinions still prevail in Croatia, but following the turbulent public discussion of the property tax, new combinations of economic views appear in which liberal and interventionist views intermingle.