Taxing land (and not the buildings on top of it) would incentivize people to improve the buildings to add value. Currently, other taxes such as capital gains di

Taxing land (and not the buildings on top of it) would incentivize people to improve the buildings to add value. Currently, other taxes such as capital gains disincentivizes improvements to the property. The biggest benefit to such a simple tax system is the simplicity itself. It isn't just that a complex tax code makes for dead weight loss in paying taxes and the loopholes to evade them. The process of creating loopholes is extremely corrupting. If you want a heathly democracy, keep things simple to disincentivize corruption. The US is not a healthy democracy, largely due to the incredible size of government and extreme corruption of our tax code. Other problems such as unfunded liabilities or overly influencial corporations stem from this core issue.