[RP TownTalk] Assessements et cetera

[Jack R. Jones]

On Sat, 15 Apr 2006 23:02 Sarah Wayland wrote.

I just think there are some larger issues that need to be
addressed by the state before this approach will be as effective as it
should be (e.g., fixing how the assessments of the land value are made
in the first place.)

Jack here:

Amen to that Sarah. And it will be a long row to hoe. CSE/HGFA began 
contacting the Governor and Legislature in 1995 to consider replacing 
the state Sales and Income Tax with a Land Value Tax and also to pass 
enabling legislation for the counties and Baltimore City. Our 
previous main effort to get the Legislature to adopt State enabling 
legislation was modified to getting counties enabled and to getting 
the State and Municipalities to adopt LVT as a result of the State's 
Attorney General ruling that it was Constitutional for the State and 
Municipalities to set separate tax rates on land and on improvements.

Anne Healey has been introducing enabling legislation for LVT for the 
Counties. She would have a better chance of doing that if some 
Municipality could summon the courage to actually, God Forbid, be the 
first in Maryland to adopt LVT. Having empirical evidence from 
Maryland could help the above changes occur more quickly. Having the 
empirical evidence from Maryland is critical for change, as it seems 
empirical evidence from Pennsylvania and the World at large is not 
acceptable for making the decision in Riverdale Park, or in Maryland 
in general. If human civilization sat around awaiting the most 
efficient form of a new practice or technology before it would adopt 
anything at all; we would make no progress...it is only by trying the 
new, learning it, understanding it, and changing it...that it gets 
more efficient and eventually leads to something else entirely new; 
and the spiral continues (and that is the process for discovery of 
bad things too such as the diseconomies of taxing production). To get 
a real feel for this I recommend James Burke's The Day the Universe 
Changed [book and PBS series] and his Connections I, II, III, and I 
think also IV [BBC series] at the PGML Hyattsville.

In 1999 50% of the land value of Maryland could have eliminated the 
sales tax and reduced the state income tax to 1%. The other 50% would 
have been sufficient for counties and municipalities revenues plus 
15-20% of land value in reserves for other uses. And, it might be 
mentioned that the taxing of use of other natural resources, such as 
fuels, air waves, et cetera were not even considered though also a 
potential beneficial source of government revenues.

My understanding in conversation with some people at the tax office 
is that even though they are able to do accurate assessments, there 
are annual 10% increase caps set by the legislature that prevent the 
taxation of the full value of the land and improvements (keeps people 
from being taxed out of house and home in one fell swoop). If the 
assessed value is higher than the taxable value it is not brought 
into effect until a sale and exchange of ownership. So that means the 
assessments are dragging behind during realestate bubbles or actual 
increase in value exceeding 10% per annum.

My $0.02 for today,
Jack
-- 
"We have met the enemy, and he is us!" Pogo Possum
http://theriverdaleobserver.blogspot.com
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