"Why is there a reason to tax real estate property at 1% of its valuation per year? " Because there is an acute supply problem in Vancouver real estate. Making

"Why is there a reason to tax real estate property at 1% of its valuation per year? " Because there is an acute supply problem in Vancouver real estate. Making them pay 1% for empty homes incents people to rent them out. The same arguments do not apply at all to IP. "First of all, so what if they run out? Other kinds of property also depreciate and we still tax them." 'Depreciation' and 'expiration of patents' are not the same thing at all. A 'patent' is the exclusive right to own a piece of IP for a period of time, after which it's public domain. It's basically pointless to add on a 'wealth tax' to a patent - there is already a tax on royalties and that makes sense. When you buy your property, it does not become 'public domain' after 10 years - it's a completely different economic vehicle. "Second, copyright has effectively ceased to run out around 1970. So there is every reason to tax IP." Copyright and patents are totally different things. Someone who created a unique song, has the right to protect it for quite some time. Moreover - it was 'made famous' by them, i.e. it's a brand that is invested in. Disney should be able to 'own' Mickey Mouse forever - they created it, and they back it. They spend billions supporting 'Mickey' and there's no reason someone else should be able to rip them off by selling clones. In much the same way fashion brands are protected. Drugs, algorithms, other kinds of solutions, there is definitely a 'public good' in those things being public after some time, so it's fair that IP protections run out.