Editing Land value tax (section)

==Practical issues==
Several practical issues complicate LVT implementation. Most notably, it must be:
* calculated accurately and fairly (and fairness is always subjective)
* high enough to raise sufficient revenue without causing land abandonment, but if land is abandoned, it could be claimed by the State (as occurs under [[Israeli land and property laws#Absentees' Property Laws|Israel's Absentees' Property Laws]])
* billed to the correct person or business entity
* Political Resistance: Landowners, particularly those with substantial holdings, may oppose LVT due to its potential to significantly increase their tax burden. This resistance can lead to political challenges in implementing and sustaining an LVT.
* Effect on Rural Landowners: In rural areas, where land values are lower but the land size per owner might be large, the tax might seem unfair or burdensome compared to urban areas where land values are higher.
* Effect on Planning 1: Whereas in a conceptual world LVT drives efficient use of land, extant [[Planning permission|planning]] restrictions mitigate against that efficiency.  Moreover when external developments increase the notional land value (by increasing amenity, for instance) existing landowners may object if such a development increased LVT while they are not allowed to realise the benefit.
* Effect on Planning 2: LVT in real estate should encourage high-rise building to maximise land-use efficiency.  However amenity improvements required for those high-occupant developments are shared unequally across low-occupancy neighbours.
* Market Fluctuations: The real estate market is subject to fluctuations, which can lead to significant changes in land values and, consequently, the taxes owed. This volatility can make it difficult for landowners to plan financially.
* Economic Impact on Property Development: While LVT encourages the efficient use of land, it could also discourage development in areas where the anticipated increase in land value may not justify the initial investment costs, potentially leading to underdevelopment.

===Assessment/appraisal===
{{Hatnote|Compare to [[Real estate appraisal]]}}
{{See also|Land (economics)}}

Levying an LVT requires an assessment and a title register. In a 1796 [[Supreme Court of the United States|United States Supreme Court]] opinion, [[William Paterson (judge)|Justice William Paterson]] said that leaving the valuation process up to [[Assessor (property)|assessors]] would cause bureaucratic complexities, as well as non-uniform procedures.<ref>{{cite court |litigants=[[Hylton v. United States]] |vol=3 |reporter=[[Dall.]] |opinion=171 |pinpoint= |court=U.S. |date=1796 }}</ref> [[Murray Rothbard]] later raised similar concerns, claiming that no government can fairly assess value, which can be determined only by a [[free market]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.mises.org/rothbard/georgism.pdf |title=The Single Tax: Economic and Moral Implications and A Reply to Georgist Criticisms|first=Murray |last=Rothbard |date=20 July 2005 |access-date=13 February 2009 |publisher=The Mises Institute}}</ref>

Compared to modern property tax assessments, land valuations involve fewer variables and have smoother [[gradient]]s than valuations that include improvements. This is due to variation of building design and quality. Modern statistical techniques have improved the process; in the 1960s and 1970s, [[multivariate analysis]] was introduced as an assessment tool.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SsizAAAAIAAJ |last=Downing |first=Paul B. |chapter=Estimating Residential Land Value by Multivariate Analysis |editor=Daniel M. Holland |title=The Assessment of Land Value |year=1970 |access-date=13 February 2009|publisher=University of Wisconsin Press|isbn=9780299056209 }}</ref> Usually, such a valuation process begins with a measurement of the most and least valuable land within the taxation area. A few sites of intermediate value are then identified and used as "landmark" values. Other values are interpolated between the landmark values. The data is then collated in a database,<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.landreg.gov.hk/en/form/property.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080607013107/http://www.landreg.gov.hk/en/form/property.htm |archive-date=2008-06-07 |title=Property Reference Number|website=The Land Registry|access-date=22 December 2008}}</ref> "smoothed" and mapped using a [[geographic information system]] (GIS). Thus, even if the initial valuation is difficult, once the system is in use, successive valuations become easier.

===Revenue===
[[File:Maximum taxation with perfectly inelastic supply.svg|upright=1.2|thumb|In this case, land is taxed at 100% of its value, eliminating the landowner surplus completely. The ownership of land becomes worthless except to those who value it higher than market rents.]] In the context of LVT as a [[single tax]] (replacing all other taxes), some have argued that LVT alone cannot raise enough [[tax revenue]].<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wA87AQAAIAAJ&q=land+value+tax |page=458-59 |edition=3rd |year=1986 |title=Economic Analysis of Law |isbn=978-0-316-71438-9 |last1=Posner |first1=Richard A. |author-link=Richard Posner |publisher=Little, Brown }}</ref> However, the presence of other taxes can reduce land values and hence the revenue that can be raised from them. The [[Physiocrats]] argued that all other taxes ultimately come at the expense of land rental values. Most modern LVT systems function alongside other taxes and thus only reduce their impact without removing them. Land taxes that are higher than the rental [[economic surplus|surplus]] (the full land rent for that time period) would result in land [[Abandonment (legal)|abandonment]].<ref>{{cite journal |first=J. Anthony |last=Coughlin |title=Land Value Taxation and Constitutional Uniformity |volume=7 |journal=Geo. Mason L. Rev. |page=265-266 }}</ref>

===LVT Impracticalities===
In some countries, LVT is impractical because of uncertainty regarding [[land titles]] and [[land ownership and tenure|tenure]]. For instance, a parcel of grazing land may be communally owned by village inhabitants and administered by village elders. The land in question would need to be held in a trust or similar body for taxation purposes. If the government cannot accurately define ownership boundaries and ascertain the proper owners, it cannot know from whom to collect the tax. Clear titles are absent in many developing countries.<ref>{{cite thesis |degree=Doctoral |first = Mika-Petteri |last = Törhönen |section=Sustainable Land Tenure and Land Registration in Developing Countries, Including a Historical Comparison with an Industrialised Country |section-url=http://lib.tkk.fi/Diss/2003/isbn9512264919/article4.pdf |title=Sustainable Land Tenure and Land Registration in Developing Countries |url=http://lib.tkk.fi/Diss/2003/isbn9512264919/ |date =1998–2003 |publisher=Helsinki University of Technology |access-date = 22 May 2008}}</ref> In African countries with imperfect land registration, boundaries may be poorly surveyed, and the owner can be unknown.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Keith |first=Simon H. |date=October 1993 |title=Property Tax in Anglophone Africa: A Practical Manual |location=Washington, DC |publisher=The World Bank |page=10 |url=http://www1.worldbank.org/wbiep/decentralization/africa/Keith.pdf |issn=0253-7494 |access-date=12 June 2008 |journal= World Bank Technical Paper|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080910003610/http://www1.worldbank.org/wbiep/decentralization/africa/Keith.pdf |archive-date=10 September 2008 }}</ref>