In a message dated 10/17/03 9:47:25 AM, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: << Frankly, I'm suspicious of this "land tax" scheme.... (In other words, if you're going to charge the same tax for the land on which Liberty Place sits as you would for a block of row homes, then the row homes are going to cost more in taxes.)....>>
This is not a "scheme," and your example is incorrect. Perhaps you missed the UCCC's Town Meeting several years ago where City Controller Jonathan Saidel and members of his staff came to University City to explain the proposal, which the Controller's office has supported for years already. After the explanation in front of a packed room at the Calvary Center, a "straw vote" was taken for the benefit of Councilwoman Blackwell, who was observing the meeting. The result: a few present were undecided about the idea (maybe 8 or so), and everyone else in the room was in favor of the change - enthusiastically in favor! Simple summary: Tax land with similar value at the same rate, despite its current use or lack of use. Determine value based on two factors: LOCATION and ZONING. (No, Liberty Place's land would NOT be taxed at the same rate as a center city row house's land! It would be taxed at the same rate as neighboring properties with similar commercial zoning at 16th & Chestnut Sts.! In other words, locally, for example, every house on the 800 block of S. 48th St. which is zoned single family would have the same tax rate. And every house on that block which is zoned duplex would have the same tax rate. Ditto for triplexes. This seems fair, right? But it's not the case now! Go to Hallwatch.org and look it up!) Result: Property owners would no longer be penalized for taking care of their properties, or rewarded for neglecting them. - Under the current tax system, speculators in the city who let their properties decline can go to the BRT (Board of Revision of Taxes) and get their assessments reduced due to poor condition! With land value tax, they would have to pay the same tax as neighboring properties, since it's no one's fault but their own that they aren't making better use of the land they own - its value is the same as the value of the land next door with the same zoning. It is hoped that this would make it less profitable to hold declining properties for years, which now causes problems for surrounding buildings and neighborhoods at the same time it erodes the tax base. (At the UCCC Town Meeting, elderly neighbors on 50th St. were especially hopeful that their block could be freed of boarded and crumbling properties held by speculators, which currently hurts the value of their homes which they have carefully tended for years, but which are now difficult to sell due to the blight surrounding them. Absentee speculator blight is wiping out the value of their largest asset, surely not a fair situation.) - Under the current tax system, if you make any improvements to your house which require L&I permits, the BRT increases your assessment and you have to pay more taxes! You are penalized for taking care of your property! With land value tax, you wouldn't pay more, since the land would still have the same value as similarly zoned land next door, even if you were making your place nicer. Another result: since property owners would no longer be getting a break for underused property, but would be paying their full share in taxes, they would have an incentive to use their property more profitably, or sell it to someone else who would. - For those who have followed previous discussions of land value tax on this listserv, forgive me for repeating the same example I've used before, but it really does make things clear: My husband and I own the storefront building at 4728 Baltimore Ave. which is zoned commercial and now contains the Vientiane Cafe. Our lot's square footage is 1085 s.f; our zoning is "STR/OFF+APTS 3STY MASONRY". Next door at 4730-34 Baltimore is a weed-filled lot fronted by a cyclone fence. It's been a vacant property since a building burned down there in the 1970s; the current owners bought it in 1992 and their only "improvement" has been the cyclone fence. Its square footage is 3624 s.f. (more than THREE TIMES the size of our land); its zoning is "VAC LAND COMM. <ACRE". Our taxes are $925.57. 4730-34's taxes are $79.33. THREE TIMES the size of the other similarly zoned properties on the block. Similar zoning. About 1/12 of the taxes. While that property gets a break and causes blight, folks, the rest of us have to pay more, for the City to have enough money to operate! And even though we pay more, the block will still have blight! (I don't mean to criticize my neighbor personally, for the record - just the current wacky tax system. And by the way, my taxes are unfairly low compared to some of the other storefronts on the block.) I am sending a copy of this email to Bruno Moser of the Controller's Office, who will be happy to correspond with anyone who wants more information on land value tax. Melani Lamond ---- You are receiving this because you are subscribed to the list named "UnivCity." To unsubscribe or for archive information, see <http://www.purple.com/list.html>.
