It strikes me that environmentalists should want to tax land improvements and/or the procurement of physical goods. Imagine if a new toaster cost $100 after ta

It strikes me that environmentalists should want to tax land improvements and/or the procurement of physical goods. Imagine if a new toaster cost $100 after taxes but the toaster repairman only charged $30/hour because he was able to keep 100% of his earnings. Today, if you can buy a new toaster for $60 and toaster repair costs $50/hour, you're a lot more likely to buy a new one and put the old one out on the curb for the trash man. Would people buy houses so large if property tax rates were twice what they are today? The problem with radical changes to taxation schemes is that they have to be made slowly to avoid chaos. Ignore for a moment the last ten years of US housing history. If property taxes doubled tomorrow, the prices of houses would drop by some percentage as the marginal cost of a bigger house increased. And, we now know what happens when housing prices drop :) Slow changes could allow for gradual adjustment.