Re: Best response to landowner tax complaints?


<royls@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in message news:426d563e.16530260@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> On Sun, 24 Apr 2005 19:54:46 GMT, "sinister" <sinister@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> wrote:
>
>>Any suggestions for a short list of counterpoints?
>
> One problem is that few people are intelligent enough to understand
> the economic analysis that shows why the ultimate true beneficiaries
> of almost all government spending are landowners.
>
> Another problem is that whatever argument you make about land value,
> pretty much the opposite case can be made about improvement value,
> which the property tax also taxes.
>
> Whatever argument you make, it might be a good idea to start out by
> stipulating that you agree improvement value should not be taxed at
> all: "Improvement value is a measure of what the property owner
> contributes to the wealth of the community; land value is a measure of
> what the community contributes to the wealth of the property owner.
> Let's start by agreeing that property taxes are not fair because
> improvements should be taxed less, while land should be taxed more."
>
> Whatever objections are raised, just keep referring to the fact that
> land value is a gift from the community to the property owner: "When
> the community is giving you tens of thousands of dollars in increased
> land value every year for doing nothing, don't you think you should be
> willing to give a little more of it back? How much of a welfare
> subsidy giveaway to property owners would be enough for you? If it it
> was another person giving you that money for doing nothing, you'd be
> willing to give back at least half of it if they asked you for it,
> wouldn't you? Why does the fact that you are getting it from
> government and the community rather than an individual make you so
> unwilling to give more than a small fraction of it back?"

Some addition comments:
* As I pointed out to Quirk, there's a relatively high local income tax
(3.2%). There's also a sales tax.
* I'm an apartment dweller. As such, I pay my full share of Ricardian land
rent, I assume. How much goes to the government, I'm not sure, though I
find it hard to believe that property taxes on apt buildings are lower than
on single family homes. (And the ratio of improvement/land used is higher
for apt buildings.) Furthermore, there's an additional burden the home
owner doesn't bear---the (colloquial, not economic) rent I pay is subject to
income tax on the owner (and some of that I presume is borne by me due to
tax incidence considerations).

Cheers,

S

>
> -- Roy L


.

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