Post WWII till about 1952, the UK had a 100% capital gains tax on land. In this period two whole new cities were built from the ground up (Homes for Heroes styl

Post WWII till about 1952, the UK had a 100% capital gains tax on land. In this period two whole new cities were built from the ground up (Homes for Heroes style). After ending the tax, no government ever could afford the cost of a new town. The idea is that if a farmer has a field it's worth its agricultural value - something like 5-10,000 per acre currently. If government turns up and says this field is where we shall build a railway station, hospitals, schools and permission for 50,000 houses, then the farmer is a fool to sell for 10k, and instead sells for 100k. Meaning the cost of the hospital just became untenable and frankly nothing gets built. But, if there is 100% capital gains, then the land stays at the agricultural level because no matter who buys the land, the government says "it was worth 10k last month, if you sell it to us for hospital at 300k you owe 290k in tax" And thus no-one feels a fool for selling at agricultural prices, and capital gains remains normal for non-land improvements (ie actual bricks and mortar) Of course the towns built was Milton Keynes, a concrete monstrosity of roundabouts and soulless planning. But hey. People live there