A land value tax (or site valuation tax) is a levy on the unimproved value of land. It is an ad valorem tax on land that disregards the value of buildings, personal property and other improvements. A land value tax (LVT) is different from other property taxes, because these are taxes on the whole value of real estate: the combination of land, buildings, and improvements to the site.
Although the efficiency of a land value tax has been established knowledge since Adam Smith, it was perhaps most famously promoted by Henry George. In his best selling work ‘’Progress and Poverty’’ (1879), George argued that the value of land was created by the community, and therefore its rent belonged to the community.
Land value taxes have been implemented in Taiwan (Republic of China), Hong Kong, Singapore, Russia and Estonia, as well as in some localities in the American state of Pennsylvania, the Australian state of New South Wales and Mexicali, in Mexico. The government of the Republic of Ireland is currently considering the introduction of an LVT, among other options for taxing property.
Read more about Land Value Tax: Economic Effects, Practical Issues, Land Value Tax Incentives, Ethics, Existing Tax Systems, Policy Interest Elsewhere
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“The merely political aspect of the land is never very cheering; men are degraded when considered as the members of a political organization.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“I have no doubt that it was a principle they fought for, as much as our ancestors, and not to avoid a three-penny tax on their tea; and the results of this battle will be as important and memorable to those whom it concerns as those of the battle of Bunker Hill, at least.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)