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Market value is easy. The problem is that the author wants his tax to be based on the "unimproved value" of land, rather than the market value that includes bui
by kijin 9y ago
Market value is easy. The problem is that the author wants his tax to be based on the "unimproved value" of land, rather than the market value that includes buildings and other stuff that's on and around the land. He's aiming for a kind of philosophical purity in order to be able to say that he's not going to put a tax on human effort. That's where the complexity comes in.
- akvadrako 9y agoI don't think it's about purity at all, but practicality. Land is the scarce resource, not the buildings on it. Taxing scarce resources is what we must do and also creates the right incentives. You claim it'll be hard to judge it's fair market value and this is what I disagree with. I mean, sure it'll be hard, but not harder than measuring income. If the land tax equals the land value, undeveloped plots should sell for about $0. That's a natural benchmark to aim for.