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Detroit wants to be the first big American city to tax land value

economist.com

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Re: Detroit wants to be the first big American city to tax land value

#9
I'm a big proponent of Land Value Tax. In theory it is one of the healthiest forms of taxation since supply is fixed. It encourages efficient use of land and discourages owners from squatting on undeveloped land just to reap value from its location.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Land_value_tax

Re: Detroit wants to be the first big American city to tax land value

#10

I thought Detroit has been in decline for decades. If anything, you’d think they’d want to attract people back with _less_ taxes.

Less taxes are good, but if the taxes are there to help remove negative externalities from the market it will be a net win. I wouldn't mind paying a bit more property taxes if it meant property values weren't sky high and it discouraged land hoarding.

Land tax is good in that it still rewards developers for creating value, but not speculators or people who buy land and don't actually provide value.

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