There are obvious inconsistencies in the attitude to real estate taxes nowadays. One opinion is that real estate taxes burden the tax system because of their insignificant contribution to public budgets. This argument is supported by the low efficiency and low yields of property tax collection compared to other taxes, and injustice, when basically, it results in multiple taxation of the property.

The opposite end of the spectrum of opinions points out the positive aspects of property taxes. Horizontal and vertical equity of the tax system and the stability of revenues are emphasized. Property taxes do not have a distorting effect on jobs. They do not hold back economic activity to the same extent as income taxes, which immediately reduce the revenue from work activities. Property taxes should lead the owners of immovable properties to more rational and efficient control of their properties.

The aim of the article is to evaluate the development of approaches to real estate taxation. Real estate tax is mostly part of municipal budgets and approaches are based mainly on national traditions. Thus the principle of benefit is fulfilled.

Real estate taxes may become an effective tool of fiscal decentralization. Local governments use them to influence their own budgets in favor of improving quality of life in the municipality.

Differences among the EU countries are related to the authorities that set tax rates or tax bases and also determine the tax base using the value of immovable property or using physical indicators. Methodically, the research relies on the evaluation of secondary statistical data of the General Financial Directorate of the Czech Republic and Eurostat. The article is also based on the results of primary research conducted in the Czech Republic. Verification of the results was performed using statistical methods in SPSS. Verification of the results was performed using descriptive statistics and Kruskal-Wallis non-parametric test in SPSS Statistics.