Philadelphia's 10-year tax abatments: the Movie

[pirucreek]

I think Henrgy George made a mistake (actually his solution is a mistake), their taxes should be zero. It is their homestead, like a teepee on the plains of a prairie, you pay no taxes.

[dojochuck]

@pirucreek No offence, but you obviously don't understand George's solution. He would untax the building, and tax the land only. That way, the owners of the empty lot across the street would pay the same tax as the owners of the houses in the video. Zero taxes sounds nice, but then you are left with the same problem of land monopoly.

[pirucreek]

@dojochuck I don't completely understand what he says. He says to tax only land. But shouldn't users of gasoline pay carbon and road taxes? You pay land taxes, but whom do they go to? What if your street has potholes, but your collective mayor wants to spend your tax money on the police department or god forbid teachers.

Earlier in his book, he said all land should be free to everyone. Then he decided to offer a solution, to allow everyone to keep their land, the land tax.

[NearAbbeyRoad]

@pirucreek

Road users pay tax for using roads of some kind or other. LVT goes to the authority who provide the services, which may mean teachers, police or filling in potholes.

George's initial view was that all land is state owned and leased back, as in Hong Kong - a form of LVT. "Land ownership" is in psyche of the people the state ownership would be difficult. A tax on the "value" of the land was formed. It is now new. In Feudal times all tax came from taxing land, Adam Smith mentions it

[NearAbbeyRoad]

@pirucreek

George got 99% right. Land cannot be free as the city services must be paid for. Land Value Tax does that fairly and clean up vacant lots and pays for essential infrastructure. The value was created by the community with LVT reclaiming the community's value.

LVT is due on all land at the same rate, whether a house is on it or not. LVT does NOT tax the house. Improve your house, or make it bigger, and you are NOT taxed on the improvements.