Executive summary
This research examines how cadastral systems—combining land registers (legal ownership data) and cadastre (spatial parcel data)—support land taxation, valuation, and ownership transparency. It compares Scotland’s system with those in the Netherlands, Finland, Estonia, and Belgium to identify best practices and inform future land reform and potential land tax policy.
A central finding is that completeness of the land register is critical. Scotland is unique in that ownership lies over two registers – the historical Register of Sasines (containing 31.6% of land registered at the time of writing), and the modern Land Register (containing 59.8% of land registered at the time of writing). It is the only case study without full coverage. This significantly limits the ability to identify landowners, model potential taxation options, and support evidence-based land policy. In contrast, all comparator countries have near or fully complete systems, forming a reliable foundation for taxation and governance.
Modern cadastral systems are evolving into multi-functional Land Information Systems (LIS) that integrate legal, spatial, and additional datasets such as land value and land use. These systems are fully digital and increasingly interoperable across government, supporting a wide range of functions including taxation, planning, environmental policy, and infrastructure development.
The international examples highlight different strengths. The Netherlands demonstrates best practice in advanced analytical use. Estonia stands out for its interoperability through the X-Road system1, enabling real-time data exchange across government. Finland offers a highly efficient and accessible system, while Belgium provides a long-standing example of a cadastre designed primarily for taxation. Other countries typically require mandatory valuation and land use data, whereas Scotland’s system has gaps and inconsistencies due to non-mandatory fields and variable data entry. This reduces the system’s usefulness for more advanced policy analysis, such as modelling potential tax options.
Transparency and accessibility vary across countries but are shown to deliver clear benefits. More open and free systems, such as those in Estonia and Finland, increase public trust, improve market efficiency, and support innovation, however, require more public money to operate.
Institutional arrangements also differ, although most countries manage cadastral and land register functions within a single organisation, improving efficiency and coordination. Estonia demonstrates that similar outcomes can be achieved through strong interoperability between separate institutions. Integration with other public systems—such as tax, planning, and agricultural databases—is a key feature of high-performing systems.
For any form of land value taxation, a complete and accurate cadastral system is essential. International examples show different approaches, including taxes based on land value, buildings, or spatial characteristics such as location.
1 See Box 2 in the main text of the report - https://x-road.global/
