Killer Arguments Against LVT, Not (200)

I was hoping for something really special for the bi-centennial edition, and Bob E has emailed me links to articles on land taxes from The Telegraph and from The Guardian (Simon Jenkins on tip-top form) which do not disappoint.

At last! The scales have fallen from my eyes and I shall henceforth my Georgist ways!

Finally, we have some reasoned arguments as to why it is better to tax earned income, profits and output rather than the community-generated rental value of land; commenters have actually applied economic rigour to their analyses and laid out clearly why a compassionate government can benefit its citizens and the economy by keeping house prices and mortgage debts as high as possible; and why it is good for land ownership to be concentrated in as few hands as possible; it's nice to see the Baby Boomers go the bother of explaining to the Priced Out Generation why they are actually better off by renting until middle age rather than paying off an affordable mortgage.

So that's it lads, I will also contact my landlord shortly to negotiate a hefty rent increase, I never realised the sacrifices he had to make to pay off an affordable mortgage, most of which was eroded away by inflation and then sit back and watch his house go up tenfold in value. As it happens, I did very well out of the last house price bubble, so in future I shall expect a bit more reverence from those peasants who actually have to work for a living.

doesntplaywellwithothers Jesus Christ, life is unfair Daniel, get over it and get over yourself while you're at it. If you want to buy your own place get a better job, get another job, earn more money, work harder or move the hell out of London and commute from somewhere where the property prices are more in line with the thickness of your wallet. This constant bleating, bleeding heart, politics of envy bullshit you spout is so 1970's. Grow up.

bubbles15 ... would you have no one own a home, ever? You're aware of the huge benefits of living in an area of high home ownership instead of renting, I assume?

pewkatchoo You really are a very silly little boy.

misterman Tax isn't fair. It's theft.

george204 What's unfair about your pal not paying tax on his house? His parents bought it out of taxed income, organised their finances to that they could pay off the mortgage and leave it to him without inheritance tax (the most evil tax of all) forcing him to sell it. That house and the money which paid for it has been taxed several times over.

Hayekian2 Daniel, every week you move further into the realms of socialist envy politics.

I've inherited nothing: (a) my parents are still alive; and (b) they are not wealthy. I worked hard for 20 years and saved such that I was able to buy (eventually and out of income on which I have already paid 40%+ tax and on which I paid 4% stamp duty) a house in London, which is apparently "a mansion".

I now have part time roles in the NHS, the charity sector and social investment*, earning enough (post-yet more tax) to cover my outgoings. Taxing me again (on top of council tax) on my property means I will have to sell my house and will almost certainly leave the country ... so no tax, no socially useful work and the house will probably be bought by overseas buyers who will pay little or no UK tax.

* And this person is not a rent seeker? This leech considers his or her work "socially useful" and imagines that he or she could find high paying work abroad? FFS!

Delboy36 This is a very confused and whiney piece.

pewkatchoo That is because our Daniel is a very confused and whiney little boy.

That's just from the first page of the comments, there are plenty more reasoned arguments explaining why there is no link between credit bubbles, land price bubbles and recessions on later pages, as well as an explanation that when Adam Smith recommended taxing "the ground rent of land" what he actually meant was a tax on earned income and profits and subsidies to land owners, all a terrible misunderstanding!