Site Value Taxation in a Declining City

A bstract . The relationship is analyzed between the economic decline of a central city and the likelihood that a site value tax will be politically acceptable. Public choice and land use models are combined to generate a scenario of land use changes and changes in improvements to land ratios which determine whether a specific property owner will gain or lose from a revenue-neutral site value tax. A case study is presented which substantiates many of the effects suggested by the model. In general, private and public sector responses to a city's decline result in an atmosphere that is relatively hostile to site value taxation.     

Neighborhood Revitalization and New Life: A Land Value Taxation Approach

When a neighborhood declines, the poor get poorer, crime rises, and those who can leave the area. The tax base shrinks, so the rates paid by those least able to pay increase. The prevailing system of a low tax on land values leads to land speculation and private land banking, assuring that the landowner can hold out for a very high price for a very long time. A higher tax on land values (coupled with reduction in building taxes) creates an incentive to sell that land or do something with it rather than waiting. In cities that use land‐value taxes, real‐estate markets start to work again and neighborhoods recover. Clairton, Pennsylvania's adoption of a land‐value‐taxation system demonstrates the neighborhood revitalization to which it leads, as owner‐occupied residences and multi‐family units saw a relief in their tax burden. In contrast, vacant properties' contribution to the city budget tripled, providing the resources to pay for the education of Clairton's children and liberate working and middle‐class families from the bonds of labor and capital taxation.     

Curing Slums: The Jane Jacobs Way and the Henry George Way

Henry George and Jane Jacobs were both self‐taught public figures who shared an appreciation of the density, productivity, diversity, and cultural creativity of big cities. A century separated them, during which architects and planners designed cities according to abstract principles, but George and Jacobs expected the creative potential of a city to emerge from its inhabitants, not from a central planner. Although the interests and concerns of George and Jacobs overlapped on only a few topics, they both believed that slum dwellers could solve their own problems, given the right tools. For Jacobs, the solution to dilapidated housing lay not in bulldozing neighborhoods, but in rehabilitating them through a process she called “unslumming,” a gradual process of self‐improvement that has at times been accused of being gentrification. Henry George offered a different solution, involving taxation of land values, one that did not focus on particular neighborhoods and thus avoided the paradox that local improvements would raise the price of real estate too high for local residents to stay. An example is given of how George's solution actually worked in the Rosslyn neighborhood of Arlington, Virginia. In this case, no change in tax policy was needed to bring about a local economic renaissance in the 1960s, merely the realignment of property assessments that correctly reflected the actual value of land.     

Metropolitan suburbanization and central city problems

This paper is an empirical study of effects of central city problems on population and employment suburbanization. It is widely believed that high crime, high taxes, and large minority groups in central cities are important causes of rapid suburbanization of U.S. metropolitan areas. A large set of density functions is estimated for population and employment in U.S. metropolitan areas in 1960 and 1970. Thus, relative central city and suburban measures of crime, taxes, etc., are used in an interactive model to explain population and employment suburbanization. It is found that only racial minorities have an effect on suburbanization.     

Site Value Taxation and the Timing of Land Development

A bstract . Recent writers have challenged the traditional view that a tax on site value is neutral, but there is still disagreement as to the effects of the tax. The site value tax affects the timing of land development in that it provides an incentive for landowners to develop land sooner than under a property tax levied on improvements also. Confusion has resulted from a failure to distinguish market value from development value. The incidence of the site value tax must take into account the dynamics of untaxing capital and of the capitalization of the tax increase on land values , as well as of the resulting increase of land supply and its effect in further reducing land values. The increased profitability of capital improvements could then increase land rent from the demand side. Obviously, amidst such dynamic changes, the overall effect on land values and rents is unsettled pending further research.     

Politics vs Economics: Evidence from Municipal Annexation

This paper investigates economic and political factors in suburban annexation decision in large U.S. cities. This paper employs a median-voter model, which suggests a natural latent-variable estimation strategy. Bivariate logit and normal procedures incorporating information about state laws governing annexation are run on census tract level data. Estimated parameters are used to evaluate the effects of economic and political variables. Results show cities' desire to expropriate suburban tax base did not motivate annexation, although cities were sensitive to other economic factors. The desire to offset political and racial effects of urban migration had a consistent and positive effect on annexation.     

湖北省人口收缩城市的空间格局与类型识别

通过对湖北省82个县(市、区)的常住人口变化率和人口净流量进行交互分析,引入城乡建设用地脱钩模型和人口—土地城镇化协调指数,分析了人口收缩区域建设用地结构和城镇化协调类型。结果显示,湖北省存在37个人口持续流出、规模减少的区域,这些区域不仅在总量上表现为人口收缩与建设用地扩张的悖论关系,而且在城镇化方面也多表现为人口城镇化与土地城镇化不协调的状态,而从城乡建设用地结构的角度表现为不同的脱钩类型,其中仅有少数收缩区域是强脱钩的合理利用状态。从不同表现特征可将收缩城市类型分为空间无序扩张型、工业衰退型、资源枯竭型以及中心袭夺型四个类别,并概括为人口资源与土地资源、经济发展等在时空上的不匹配。最后,结合资源禀赋、经济结构变化等特征对人口收缩区域类别进行了归纳,并提出了针对性的城市规划和发展建议。     

Urban models of race discrimination

This paper presents two models of discriminatory behavior by whites in an urban context. In the first, both the black and white populations of the city are assumed fixed and the model yields the counterintuitive prediction that white prejudice makes blacks better off. In the second model, blacks and whites both migrate freely between cities when by doing so they can raise their welfare levels. In this case the model predicts that increases in whites' taste for discrimination cause racially mixed cities to become less mixed; whites move out and blacks move in. The remaining whites retreat to an isolated suburban outer ring where they are compensated for remaining in the mixed city by consuming more land than whites in non- mixed cities. From a welfare standpoint, racially mixed cities are shown to be inefficient since they are more spread out and travel costs are higher.     

Property taxation and the demand for housing: An econometric analysis

There is disagreement among economists regarding the effect of a local increase in property taxation on the housing market. In defining the price of housing services studies of the demand for housing have treated the property tax exclusively as an excise tax on housing consumption. Two recent theoretical developments suggest this is a misrepresentation of the tax. One theory holds that the excise effects of property taxation may be shifted backward to the factors employed in the production of housing. The other theory concludes that the property tax is not an excise, but rather serves as an efficient price for local public services. To investigate these hypotheses, data from the Annual Housing Survey were employed to estimate a housing demand model which included the net effective property tax rate among the set of independent variables. In addition to revealing the property tax-housing demand relationship, the model provides more reliable estimates of income and price elasticities by eliminating specification errors found in previous studies. Results indicate that the property tax reduces the housing consumption of central city homeowners, but does not distort the suburban housing market.     

A theoretical analysis of the effect of fear on the location decisions of urban — suburban residents

This paper extends Becker's analysis of crime by dealing with group behavior. It introduces two additional points for general consideration: the existence of fear costs, with fear modeled as an undepletable detrimental externality; and the positive utility a criminal, who is a member of a criminal gang or organization, can obtain from determinate prison sentences where parole, probation, and plea bargaining are possible sentences. These points have implications for the control of violent street crime in central cities as well as upon the location decision of urban residents. The possible spread of violent street crime from central cities to the suburbs can generate a subsequent suburban incentive to discriminate against minority races to prevent this spread. This linkage offers a partial explanation of segregated housing patterns in suburban cities of America.     

Economic Effects of Taxes on Land:

A bstract . Land taxes may not be neutral in their economic impacts due to liquidity effects. Liquidity effects of land taxes may be in the form of holding cost effects or capitalization effects. Holding cost effects may occur when land is being withheld from development for non-financial reasons, such as the direct benefits of landownership. Capitalization effects may occur when there are imperfections in capital markets which prevent the acquisition of land for otherwise viable projects. Contrary to the analysis by Bentick , no liquidity effects should be expected due to variations in streams of land rent generated by different hypothetical development projects for a given site. Bentick's analysis relies on a misunderstanding of the nature of land rent .     

房地产税改革与土地财政困局破解——基于对地方财政影响的情景分析

地方政府过度依赖土地出让收入是当前中国公共管理面临的重要难题。改革房地产税制并触发土地制度的连锁反应是破解中国土地治理困局的基本出路。通过预测不同改革方案下典型城市住房相关土地财政收入变化,评估房地产税替代土地出让（纯）收益成为地方支柱性收入源的前景。研究发现,如果合理设计覆盖城市存量和新增住房的房地产税,可在短期内保证地方土地财政收入的相对稳定,并在远期实现房地产税替代土地出让金成为地方财政支柱的目标,增强土地财政收入的可持续性。近期政府应改变“重流转、轻保有”的状况,将房地产税培育成为地方主体税种,远期应推进城乡一体化土地市场体系、土地出让制度和土地增值税制度联动改革,使地方土地财政收入从以一次性的土地出让纯收益为主向以持续的房产保有税、土地增值税等为主转变,促进政府土地管理本位职能回归,破解土地财政与政府治理困局。     

"空间失配"假设及对中国城市问题研究的启示

对美国学者在"空间失配"假设方面的研究及其对政策的影响进行了回顾,提出在研究中应重点关注在中国城市就业、城市交通规划、土地利用规划和城市改造拆迁四个方面应用"空间失配"假设的可能性和必要性.     

Property Tax and Housing Returns

This paper evaluates the effects of property tax on housing. While land tax and capital gains tax are widely used for curbing hoarding of land and speculation, its effectiveness is inconclusive. The imposition of a capital gains tax will impair the liquidity of property transaction, lower the rate of return on property investment, and reduce revenue from land sales which represents an important tax resource for the communities. This paper shows that a capital gains tax is capitalized into housing prices. Individuals tend to postpone the purchase of houses because of transaction taxes. Using an impulse response function, we show that a transaction tax has a dynamic negative impact on housing returns. While this paper focuses on Hong kong, for the purpose of comparison Singapore and Taiwan are also discussed.     

The Relative Efficiency of Taxes in a Two-Period Model of Urban Growth

In this paper we investigate the differential effects of a wage tax and a land value tax on urban development and economic efficiency. A two-period model has been used to confirm that while a land value tax is distortionary, a wage tax of equal yield is even worse at the level of a single open city where the supply of labor is perfectly elastic to the city. This result suggests that the finding land value taxes are distortionary is of little practical significance.     

Firm suburbanization and urban subcenters

The theory of firm location within an urban area is extended to consider a city in which firms can export their output via a suburban terminal as well as via the usual CBD terminal. Firms benefit from suburbanization since freight transport costs are reduced and since they can pay lower wages, but labor may be scarce in the suburbs. This forces suburban firms to readjust their wages, causing some workers to out-commute and giving all workers an incentive to relocate. The existence of an employment subcenter under labor scarcity conditions is shown to cause household utility levels to rise, the size of the metropolitan area to increase, and overall urban land value to change indeterminately. Finally, determination of the optimal location for a suburban terminal is considered.     

论大都市的转型

关注全球(世界)城市的崛起,也关注那些转型不太成功、地位有所衰落的城市,如美国的匹兹堡、底特律及英国的伯明翰等,同时也聚焦于发展中国家那些正处于转型期和转型前期的大都市。力图从上述三种类型城市的转型路径和模式中探寻出一般性的规律和机理,以期对中国大都市的转型有所启示。     

Annexation: An Economic Analysis

A bstract . Cost/revenue analysis is used to determine the economic feasibility for annexing various types of land uses into a municipality. Operating costs for municipal services within existing municipal boundaries are apportioned to land uses according to the percent of the service utilized by each. Capital expenditures Site averaged over the expected life of the capital facility Sind then allocated to land uses in the same proportional manner as operating expenditures. Tax yields by land use type are estimated by allocating property taxes and income taxes to land uses which generate them. For example, income taxes are allocated to the commercial and industrial land uses where the employment resulting in tax yields is found. Tax yields are then compared by land use through use of an areal average of one acre. Estimates of revenue to be produced through annexation would result from comparing tax yields with service costs using the same acre average. Thus a city is in a better position to make a decision about the economic merits of specific annexation proposals.     

Local income taxation in an urban area

This paper indicates the response of a metropolitan area to the levying of a local income tax. The analysis is focused on a central city and its surrounding suburbs but allows for migration to and from the metropolitan area. Of primary interest are the spatial effects of local income taxation and the associated welfare costs derived from additional transportation expenditures. The analysis indicates the forms of compensation to central city high-income households for the fiscal deficit they bear. Changes in wage rates and land rentals are derived and the question of full capitalization is considered.     

An empirical analysis of the corporate control,tax and incentive motivations for adopting leveraged employee stock ownership plans

This paper examines three motivations for leveraged ESOP adoption: as a takeover defense, as a mechanism for providing incentives to employees and as a vehicle for tax savings. ESOP adoption is more likely for companies with a higher predicted probability of takeover, but ESOP adopters have many characteristics that are different from takeover targets. Companies that adopt ESOPs can be distinguished from non-adopting companies based on characteristics associated with the tax and incentive effects of these plans. The size of the ESOP is shown to depend primarily on the tax and incentive characteristics.