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Comment by pa pi (pa-pi) on Combining the best of Georgian and Harberger taxes · 2022-12-08T03:13:37.856Z · LW · GW

There is no calculation problem whatsoever in appraising land, which is commonplace today. It's only influenced by uniform application of the same formula to every enrolled parcel, so the comparison will vary a bit, but remain generally fair. It's not at all essential to arrive at a 'perfect' number, it's just an administrative decision. It's just the method of arriving at standard equivalence, otherwise it could just be $5,000/acre across the board

If you don't like the assessment it's immediately appealable through the administrative process, and then into the judicial courts. That's how it works right now, the innovation of Henry George is taxing only the land value, and ignoring the improvements.

Comment by pa pi (pa-pi) on Combining the best of Georgian and Harberger taxes · 2022-12-07T23:46:42.300Z · LW · GW

Like it says up top don't persuade, "explain".

The rest is up to you, just know that I can defeat this system. I already do in court, and it confounds the many assumptions that people make, esp. attorneys.

Part of the problem is lack of root in the historic development of land titles in America and elsewhere. The best place to start is reading the Soviet decree on Land, 1918 written by V. Lenin.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decree_on_Land

Comment by pa pi (pa-pi) on Combining the best of Georgian and Harberger taxes · 2022-12-07T21:51:30.973Z · LW · GW

You've made a completely false comparison between two impossible objects. In order to destroy the property, I have to get possession. Once I get possession, there's no defining that it was "destroyed". You're thinking in cartoon pictures, and that's because you don't seem to understand anything about real estate.

Land rights are not traded on 'bots, all claims are subjective. To get possession through the civil process it requires pleading an entire court case that can take years and a jury trial. There's no purpose to these perambulations, it's unstructured theory without any real time application.

The George Tax is just property tax, assessed by the same authority against land value only. There's no question of accuracy, because all parcels are subject to the same process and uniform standard. The purpose of assessment is to reach uniform comparison, not existential value.

Adverse possession is a better title than tax sales, which only conveys new title to the civil map. There's nothing sacred about the civil map, a lot of this error comes from libertarian confusion about "property rights'. The only workable solution is everything up for sale at any time by private application to the local Treasurer, subject to all existing rights, use & occupancy. Otherwise, Henry George was talking about property taxes on land, and the assessment system is perfect at that point.

I can easily defeat this Harberger system, set the price at "zero". All bids are redeemed at public sales, which is completely ignored. It goes in every direction, these urban legends say that "deeds" are existential with vertical force lines shooting up from the parcel map, making an invisible wall against trespass. The whole thing is founded on complete ignorance of how the mapping system developed, how property taxes actually work, and what real estate title means.