Yes? That's literally the case: if there is no land tax in Manhattan either, then yes: that land has no value until someone decides to do something with it. Bu

Yes? That's literally the case: if there is no land tax in Manhattan either, then yes: that land has no value until someone decides to do something with it. But it also shows off how much the idea that "land = value" has been hammered into you. By default, land's just land. It doesn't have value until someone slaps some kind of "land management scheme" on top of it.