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From the article: > As both the Vienna model and Henry George[1] would suggest, the problem is forever and always the cost of land. Burdensome land costs, and
by larsiusprime 6y ago
From the article:
> As both the Vienna model and Henry George[1] would suggest, the problem is forever and always the cost of land. Burdensome land costs, and the rentiers who gain massive wealth by passive land speculation, are the real enemies — not developers, not our homeowners, not our public officials.
[1] https://thetyee.ca/Solutions/2018/06/04/Tax-To-Solve-Housing-Crisis/ https://thetyee.ca/Solutions/2018/06/04/Tax-To-Solve-Housing... (linked in the article)
EDIT: From the looks of it Vienna's policy isn't purely Georgist, but it has a few policies (namely land tax, particularly on vacant lots) out of Henry's playbook.
- giantg2 6y agoSometimes the taxes on the land are even more burdensome than the land itself when you look at it over even a 30 year mortgage.
- larsiusprime 6y agoAre you referring to taxes on ground rent (what is typically meant by "land tax" -- a tax on the value of the land if it was an empty lot), or taxes on improvements (what's built on the land)? Conventional property tax is a mixture of pure land tax and a tax on improvements. And are you talking in general, or do you have some specific insight into Vienna's particular policies?
- giantg2 6y agoIn general and total real estate property tax. I will pay at least as much property tax over the next 50 years as what I paid for my house.
- larsiusprime 6y agoThanks! I'm curious -- if it's not weird to ask, does your property tax bill happen to separate out how much is due to improvements and how much to ground rent?
- giantg2 6y agoIt doesn't specify. But looking at vacant land in the area, it looks like 5-10% is land and the other 90-95% would be the house.
- epistasis 6y agoWhen homeowners have the vast majority of their wealth ties up in land values, and not structure values, they become property speculators and rentiers just as bad as any other wealthy rentier.