Property Tax Reform And Smart Growth

Taxing land values more heavily than building and improvements could protect undeveloped land.

1 minute read

January 9, 2004, 7:00 AM PST

By Chris Steins @planetizen


"...In 15 states (including Arizona, Florida and New Mexico), the private decision to develop a rural parcel that has enjoyed use-value assessment results in no financial penalty at all to the owner. Hence, the tax incentive to postpone development is very weak. Only in those states (such as Connecticut and Rhode Island) that impose stiff development penalties if a parcel has been enrolled in the use-value assessment program for less than a decade is there a fairly strong incentive to postpone development despite escalating urban land rents."

Thanks to Chris Steins

Friday, January 9, 2004 in Land Lines, Lincoln Institute Of Land Policy

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