Comment by noosphr
2 days ago
A land tax means that you don't own property but rent it.
This is bringing us back to the dark ages in terms of land rights.
2 days ago
A land tax means that you don't own property but rent it.
This is bringing us back to the dark ages in terms of land rights.
>A land tax means that you don't own property but rent it.
A few comments:
1) we already have property taxes so I don't understand the objection; a land value tax is just a property tax with a different way of assessing value.
2) I don't think this idea of "not owning property, only renting it" is actually that crazy if you take a long term view over it. Land is a finite, shared resource. We already acknowledge that you don't have absolute rights over land that you own in the same way you do over, say, a toaster. We place all kinds of restrictions on what you can do with it, we tax its ownership, we have eminent domain laws, etc.
The idea of treating land as a pure asset has had a lot of negative social effects and ultimately will lead to a kind of neo-feudalism where the megarich own everything and the underclasses are perpetual renters.
>Land is a finite, shared resource.
Everything is a finite shared resource.
That's the point of ownership.
>The idea of treating land as a pure asset has had a lot of negative social effects and ultimately will lead to a kind of neo-feudalism where the megarich own everything and the underclasses are perpetual renters.
The idea that land is not a pure asset leads to regular feudalism.
No, some resources aren't shared (for example, human capital: things that I know how to do aren't shared, since nobody can 'borrow' my knowledge) or are effectively infinite (for instance, you can travel arbitrarily far into outer space and not run out of space).
1 reply →
> The idea that land is not a pure asset leads to regular feudalism.
Yup. And despite the claims made that it's a solution for the common folk, the people who "own" and can make decisions about the land will be the megarich, so it will be feudalism, with rent due on the land you own.
> Everything is a finite shared resource. > That's the point of ownership.
I think the point is that (up to a limit that we're a long way from reaching) we can make more toasters to satisfy any additional demand that arises for toasters. But we can't make more land to satisfy any additional demand that arises for land. So we have to share the land in a way that we don't have to share toasters.
You are mistaken on several grounds, but the most glaring issue is that you do not properly understand the concept of property/ownership.
For all practical purposes property/ownership is a service provided by society, not a static "attribute" of stuff (the only exception is when you live entirely without any sort of contact with other people, in which case, however, the concept of property becomes void, at least practically). And any service carries a cost with it.
For instance, in our kind of societies, the institution of property requires, at the very least: (1) legislature that defines what property is and all the related rules, (2) the administrative part that handles property transfers and other issues, and keeps the record of who own what, (3) the judiciary system that interprets the legislation and resolves disagreements and other issues related to property, (4) the police or some other body that enforces and protects the whole system within the society, (5) the army that protect the property of the society against the claims of external groups. In our societies many of these institutions carry also other functions, but enabling the system of ownership is an important part of their job. And this service is very expensive --- so not paying any taxes on property means that those costs must be covered by some other sources (e.g. selling natural resources, income taxes, ...) and, usually, lead to a transfer of wealth within the society.
So the idea that you just "own" something (your house for instance) and any kind costs of that imposed on you by the society/government are unjust is completely and patently misguided. If anything, the opposite it true.
(That does not mean that the tax system must be necessarily constructed to reflect that, as there is no single and obvious correct way to design a tax system, and other important considerations enter that issue.)
> A land tax means that you don't own property but rent it.
how is this any different from the statement "a property tax means that you don't own the property but rent it"
If you can own land, what happens when all the land is owned but newly born people need some?
Drive through New Mexico, there’s a lot of land.
Old people die.
And owners pay taxes on (some of the) assets they have, land being a big one. Hoarding mentality may have been fine for frontier wild west but ain't much compatible with modern societies which are chock full of humans in all the sweet spots.
Expectation that this comes with 0 cost just because it would suit you is a bit naive, innit
And then their land goes back to the government free pool? Is that still ownership or is it just renting for life?
We never left the dark ages in this respect. The government grants you title to deed and then you must pay your share to the lord (gov).
every tax can be expaned to a infinite series of rent.