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The solution to the housing crisis is extremely simple

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Re: The solution to the housing crisis is extremely simple

#11

Post by SomeStupidPoint »

pavel_lishin wrote: post #2

I may not be understanding his proposal fully, so please bear with me. If I'm making a complete jackass of myself through misunderstanding, let me know. > It’s worth noting that more tax on land doesn’t mean higher housing costs! For those living in enormous houses in very expensive neighbourhoods, it certainly will: but that’s by design. But shifting the tax burden onto rich folks like this, means that the average p…

How do they pass a 100% tax on net income on?

Raising the rent more (to offset the tax) generates new taxes in exactly the amount raised.

Now, I'm sure they'll just layer it through a few steps to avoid the tax (like outrageously priced management services they happen to own), but I'm not seeing how they'd (directly) pass the tax on.

Re: The solution to the housing crisis is extremely simple

#12

Post by djrobstep »

pavel_lishin wrote: post #2

I may not be understanding his proposal fully, so please bear with me. If I'm making a complete jackass of myself through misunderstanding, let me know. > It’s worth noting that more tax on land doesn’t mean higher housing costs! For those living in enormous houses in very expensive neighbourhoods, it certainly will: but that’s by design. But shifting the tax burden onto rich folks like this, means that the average p…

> what exactly is going to stop the company that owns the 50-unit apartment building that I live in from passing that tax directly onto me and the other tenants via rent?

Competition. Your landlords are already charging as much as they can get away with.

> And how does this help my parents, who own land and have completely paid off their house?

The enormous pool of money raised could help fund public healthcare and social security programs that they would benefit from.

> Should they, age 60 and 80, start working the land to produce a profit to offset the tax? Should I come back and start having more kids to work the farm?

If they own a farm but don't want to do anything with the land, they should probably downsize to a smaller property, yes?

Re: The solution to the housing crisis is extremely simple

#13

Post by infogulch »

pavel_lishin wrote: post #2

I may not be understanding his proposal fully, so please bear with me. If I'm making a complete jackass of myself through misunderstanding, let me know. > It’s worth noting that more tax on land doesn’t mean higher housing costs! For those living in enormous houses in very expensive neighbourhoods, it certainly will: but that’s by design. But shifting the tax burden onto rich folks like this, means that the average p…

The path is a bit roundabout but it makes sense.

The point is to make underutilized land uneconomical to keep that way. Landowners can no longer just sit on land that's not generating revenue. To generate revenue they will build more housing. The economics of supply and demand with additional supply will make housing cheaper more than additional taxes passed on to tenants will make it more expensive.

Re: The solution to the housing crisis is extremely simple

#14

Post by anovikov »

That is a communist bullshit.

To begin with, is there a housing crisis in America? In my books, there is more housing per capita in U.S. than in every other country of the world save for Australia, and it is also more modern that almost everywhere else except a few countries that built out from nothing in the recent years like China (but per capita housing stock is much much lower there, and that housing is Soviet-style apartment blocks).

Re: The solution to the housing crisis is extremely simple

#15

Post by mabbo »

Let's start by all agreeing that the proposal to tax land at 100% (of what?) is a bit nutty and not going to happen. Possibly this is satire. Poe's Law.

But toned down, would an increased, progressive tax on land ownership have positive benefits? More tax income, yes. And the author isn't wrong in that such a change would serve to level land values (and therefore rents, probably) out a bit.

There would sure be some upheaval bringing it in ("my mom can't afford to live in her family home anymore after 40 years!"). But it's an interesting proposal.

Re: The solution to the housing crisis is extremely simple

#16

Post by stagbeetle »

aqsheehy wrote: post #4

I feel like I'm failing an IQ test here. I assumed he meant 100% tax on rent, but then there's this line: >Owners of valuable land would be forced to make maximum use of land with higher density rentals in order to make sufficient rental income to pay the land tax. What would the 100% be on exactly?

> Income from land is thus completely unearned and thus any income gained from land ownership should be completely taxed at 100%.

I believe he's mixing up profit with income, which should tell you how well-read he is on the subject matter.

Re: The solution to the housing crisis is extremely simple

#17

Post by Overtonwindow »

This has to be satire. No one can be this narrow minded. It sounds like this author wants the government to essentially own all of the land, and only those who can afford to (the rich) to actually do anything with it. What's valuable land? What is this tax actually for? I think this is satire and the author is trying to make a point about socialism or something, no one can be these inept at economics.

Re: The solution to the housing crisis is extremely simple

#18

Post by mabbo »

dnautics wrote: post #7

> Rural land and average suburban land would be taxed at low rates because that land is comparatively cheap. How would we know what the value of that land is? Does some assessor come around and place an "expert opinion" sticker price on that land?

Is that not done in America?

The city of Toronto taxes my condo based on a fraction of it's assessed value. They don't even enter the building up decide what that value is, but they have a database of every homes estimated value.

Re: The solution to the housing crisis is extremely simple

#19

Post by djrobstep »

aqsheehy wrote: post #4

I feel like I'm failing an IQ test here. I assumed he meant 100% tax on rent, but then there's this line: >Owners of valuable land would be forced to make maximum use of land with higher density rentals in order to make sufficient rental income to pay the land tax. What would the 100% be on exactly?

100% of the rental income generated from land value (as opposed to buildings/improvements).

Formula: total rental income * (value of land / value of land and buildings)

Re: The solution to the housing crisis is extremely simple

#20

Post by mabbo »

Overtonwindow wrote: post #17

This has to be satire. No one can be this narrow minded. It sounds like this author wants the government to essentially own all of the land, and only those who can afford to (the rich) to actually do anything with it. What's valuable land? What is this tax actually for? I think this is satire and the author is trying to make a point about socialism or something, no one can be these inept at economics.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poe%27s_law
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