LVT: From the rich. To the rich?

OK. Let's assume that land rents are approx. 20% of gdp. And most of it
comes from cities and suburbs, where land costs several 100k$ (whereas land
in the middle of nowhere, even good farmland, is only 1-2 k$). So basically,
the higher productivity of these lands is the result of being near other
productive enterprises.

For the most part, the people who own these properties are pretty rich. If
we stipulate that individuals should not get land rents (e.g. it represents
some sort of unfair property claim), then the rents should be taxed away.
But to whom should these monies be given?

One way is to split up the money equally, so each square foot of land
receives the same $$. So landowners in city center will be taxed heavily,
but get back little; lsndowners further away will make a profit. But I'm not
sure how far to carry this argument: should a landowner 1000 miles away get
a share of Philadelphia's land rent?

Another approach is to measure how much each landowner contributes to the
total. So people/firms that generate the most profit (over and above land
rents) make the area productive and thus raise the overall land rents. This
means you should 1)tax away all land rents, 2) see how much profit is left
for each person/firm/landowner, and 3)give the rents back in proportion to
profits. So anyone who makes a lot of money after paying the LVT, should
have a big chunk of the LVT returned to him.

From the rich, to the rich? Seems that way.

Dan in Philly




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Relevant Pages

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