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title: "Via @[677484539:2048:Dan Lyke] I'd like to see all taxes shift to…"
date: 2019-03-07
source: facebook
type: Archer T. Ships shared a link.
---

# Via @[677484539:2048:Dan Lyke] I'd like to see all taxes shift to…

*March 7, 2019 · Facebook*

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[https://www.strongtowns.org/journal/2019/3/6/non-glamorous-gains-the-pennsylvania-land-tax-experiment](https://www.strongtowns.org/journal/2019/3/6/non-glamorous-gains-the-pennsylvania-land-tax-experiment){target="_blank"}
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Via @\[677484539:2048:Dan Lyke\]\
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I\'d like to see all taxes shift to land value tax, resource extraction taxes (oil, gas, minerals), and Pigouvian pollution taxes.\
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\"For over a century, Pennsylvania has undertaken a quiet experiment. It is one of the only U.S. states where cities are allowed to tax land at a higher rate than the buildings on it. Pittsburgh and Scranton adopted this tax system in 1913, and roughly a dozen other cities have followed suit since the 1950s. This Pennsylvania Experiment has a lot to teach us about how taxes shape the behavior of property owner\
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In 1982, Harrisburg instituted a tax rate on land that was four times the rate on buildings.\
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\[By 1994, t\]he number of vacant structures in Harrisburg declined from over 4200 in 1982 to under 500 by 2001. The downtown---previously a ghost town---is alive, even at night. The number of businesses on the tax roll has grown from 1,908 to 8,864\
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Because LVT is a local policy, a room full of citizens often figures out what LVT means in a few minutes. They know how things work, after all, under a conventional property tax:\
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Q: What happens when you fix your house up?\
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A: My taxes go up.\
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Q: What happens when the shabby absentee-owned rental property across the street finally falls over or burns down?\
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A: Its tax bill is reduced dramatically.\
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Q: So why does the city overtax work and investment, and reward blight?\
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A: Because that's the way it's always been.\"\
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[https://www.strongtowns.org/journal/2019/3/6/non-glamorous-gains-the-pennsylvania-land-tax-experiment](https://www.strongtowns.org/journal/2019/3/6/non-glamorous-gains-the-pennsylvania-land-tax-experiment){target="_blank"}
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