>The problem with trying to use taxes to punish what's seen as bad behavior is that it can punish people who aren't behaving badly. Agreed. I know that the bus

>The problem with trying to use taxes to punish what's seen as bad behavior is that it can punish people who aren't behaving badly. Agreed. I know that the businesses still surviving in my Downtown are doing just that. Surviving. If property taxes increased on all retail buildings in the downtown, rents would surely increase as a result, and the businesses that can make a buck currently would probably have to close up shop and move farther out into the city. Perhaps raising retail property taxes on buildings that sat empty might be a better solution? But then I suspect that all of those empty buildings would become filled with "fake" retail businesses... like a shoe shop that only opens up for 1 day a month or something.