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> what exactly is going to stop the company that owns the 50-unit apartment building that I live in from passing that tax directly onto me and the other tenants

> what exactly is going to stop the company that owns the 50-unit apartment building that I live in from passing that tax directly onto me and the other tenants via rent? Competition. Your landlords are already charging as much as they can get away with. > And how does this help my parents, who own land and have completely paid off their house? The enormous pool of money raised could help fund public healthcare and social security programs that they would benefit from. > Should they, age 60 and 80, start working the land to produce a profit to offset the tax? Should I come back and start having more kids to work the farm? If they own a farm but don't want to do anything with the land, they should probably downsize to a smaller property, yes?

fiter 10y ago
Competition will not resolve the issue of taxes being passed on, because all properties will have an increased tax burden. The smallest tax/rent increase will go to those using the land relatively optimally (to be decided by tax surveyors).
- djrobstep 10y ago
  Tenants are already "taxed" this amount. It just goes to the landholder, rather than the government.
  - fiter 10y ago
    I think your statement requires some justification. After a property has changed hands, the speculative value has gone away with the seller (who was a landholder but is no longer). The new landholder paid for the cash flow at market rates and so any significant additional cost (tax) would result in a loss. The new landholder will have to increase rents to make up the loss. This will be played out across the market.
  - fiter 10y ago
    I'd also like to suggest that a lot of the price increases in the SF bay area are related to difficulty developing new units. The intention of the land tax is to increase the usage (density) of valuable areas; however, that requires being able to develop! Development is very hard and risky in many parts of the SF bay area.

fiter 10y ago

Competition will not resolve the issue of taxes being passed on, because all properties will have an increased tax burden. The smallest tax/rent increase will go to those using the land relatively optimally (to be decided by tax surveyors).

djrobstep 10y ago
Tenants are already "taxed" this amount. It just goes to the landholder, rather than the government.
- fiter 10y ago
  I think your statement requires some justification. After a property has changed hands, the speculative value has gone away with the seller (who was a landholder but is no longer). The new landholder paid for the cash flow at market rates and so any significant additional cost (tax) would result in a loss. The new landholder will have to increase rents to make up the loss. This will be played out across the market.
- fiter 10y ago
  I'd also like to suggest that a lot of the price increases in the SF bay area are related to difficulty developing new units. The intention of the land tax is to increase the usage (density) of valuable areas; however, that requires being able to develop! Development is very hard and risky in many parts of the SF bay area.