Land assessment for socializing land rent while untaxing production
Gwartney, Ted
Public revenue to finance good quality services can best be procured when the community recaptures socially generated land rent rather than taxing labor and production. Cities need a sustainable and growing revenue source to fund community government public services. A land rental fee raises revenue from land use, natural resources and community funded services. Land rent is formed from ecological and social endowments, not the personal activities of individuals. A system of public finance that would strengthen and maximize incentives for the fair distribution of wealth, environmental protection, efficient wealth production, provision of adequate government services and peaceful resolution of territorial conflicts can be created. There is sufficient land rent available to deliver adequate funding for the services made available by a local government. The value of land rent can be estimated with an acceptable accuracy and transparency, at a cost which is very small compared to the revenue to be obtained. A proper system of assessment and collection of land rent can provide for the proper economic use of the land. This paper discusses the procedures for land rental assessment, the appraisal process and seven methods that can be used to estimate the rental value of land.
Only personal, non-commercial use of this document is allowed.