[davidw]

I'm not sure I buy into the whole thing, but do see some value in land taxes over property taxes in that it is an incentive for density: if you have 10000 square meters you are taxed the same whether you build a single story ranch house with a big yard, or an apartment building.

That said, how's it work out in practice? You can't tax land in downtown Portland at the same rate you tax it in Harney County, where it's mostly empty desert. But if you tax land outside cities cheaper, maybe that would encourage sprawl towards the cheaper areas?