this post was submitted on 13 Apr 2026
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Land value taxes. Other forms of wealth can be moved. There are too many different countries to move to and take wealth with you and hide it. Land can’t be moved.
Land value taxes also put a heavy cost on the most egregious forms of economic rent-seeking: collecting rent on people’s shelter. Collecting such heavy rent on mom & pop restaurants that they keep going out of business in a never-ending cycle of turnover. Destroying all kinds of small stores and cafes and restaurants which would otherwise build character in a community.
I've often been curious about a Harberger Tax for land use...
That’s pretty interesting. I don’t think it works right now though. A billionaire could buy up all the land in town and kick everyone out, then being the only voter just get rid of the tax after voting himself as the mayor (or just give himself back the tax money he paid).
At a federal level it may be interesting, but that would require scrapping everything and redoing the entire structure of the levels of government, since normally cities have the power to set their own property taxes, not other levels of government.