Description:
This study explores whether property taxes in Istanbul favored or discriminated against non-Muslims after the cadastral survey of the capital in 1875. The survey was conducted to determine the property taxes, and the process was potentially susceptible to the biased views of the surveyors who calculated the taxes payable via their subjective appraisals of all real properties. We find evidence for real estate taxes to be deflated by around a staggering 25% up to 50% in Moda—the most valuable district in Istanbul with an overwhelmingly non-Muslim population (83%). In contrast to wealthy non-Muslims, however, our estimations suggest discrimination against ordinary non-Muslims. A property with given physical features (e.g., size, location, etc.) and a rental price, would be taxed around 5-7% more if the owner was a non-Muslim. These results directly pertain to the fiscal capacity of the Ottoman state and its economic divergence from Europe in the 19th century