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It's kinda easy to make it look like a building is occupied and avoid the fine. It's kinda hard for authorities to prove otherwise.
by deepsun 8y ago
It's kinda easy to make it look like a building is occupied and avoid the fine. It's kinda hard for authorities to prove otherwise.
- r00fus 8y agoSounds more like Vancouver law which really targeted foreign owners who were parking their capital and doing nothing with the property. At some point, the effort required to cover up the lack of occupancy is equivalent to renting out the place.
- jacques_chester 8y agoIf it's "occupied" there will be tax due on rents.
- icebraining 8y agoThat's fine, they'll just rent it to a cousin or nephew for a symbolic price.
- im3w1l 8y agoGovernments have registries of where people live.
- mamon 8y agoWhich is actually the enabler here: just register a friend or relative as living in your apartment, and you're done. And of course, you're doing that as a favor, so you're not charging them any rent that might be a subject to taxation.
- Scoundreller 8y agoThere are other methods. Utility bills for example. Is the electricity utilization random enough or a little too constant? What about water? Natural gas? Pay the garbage collectors to rat out homes that never leave anything out. Are the windows always left open even on the hottest days and no A/C? Is the keyfob for entry never used? Ultimately, every tax can be evaded. Income, sales, corporate. This one won’t be any different. I do wonder who might rat out their completely quiet neighbour though.
- nradov 8y agoSome electric utilities already report customers with abnormally high electrical consumption as possible indoor marijuana farms.
- Scoundreller 8y agoTrue, but LEDs are a lot more efficient than the sodium bulbs. The real tell will be the every 5 minute reports that smart meters can generate on usage: much harder to fake with timers.
- WhiteMonkey 8y agoYou're right, Land Value Tax (LVT) would be much better, as other European cities use. It's hard to off-shore property in a tax haven too. It's one of those policies that is popular with virtually everyone right until the moment they get into power and meet the wealthy landowners/donors.
- Scoundreller 8y agoWhy not both?