[303uru]

Sure, the LVT is not designed to be a wealth tax, but rather a tax on the unimproved value of land. Its primary purpose is to encourage efficient use of land and discourage speculative land holding, which can lead to artificial scarcity and inflated property prices.

If the wealthy do decide to hold their wealth in other forms, this could potentially free up land for more productive uses or for those who might not have had access to land ownership before. This could lead to a more equitable distribution of land, which is a form of wealth in itself.

The argument that the wealthy will simply shift their wealth to other less-taxed or non-taxed forms is not necessarily a critique of the LVT, but rather a critique of the overall tax system. If other forms of wealth are undertaxed, the solution would be to reform these areas of the tax system, rather than reject the LVT.

[AnimalMuppet]

As best as I recall, every time I've heard people argue for LVT, they have wanted to replace other taxes, not supplement them. If you're going to keep the other taxes, well, land is usually already taxed in most places, and the tax is usually somewhat proportional to the value of the land. If you keep other taxes, what does an LTV do that we aren't already doing?

And your original claim was:

> Therefore, an LVT wouldn't distort market incentives, unlike other taxes. By shifting the tax burden onto land, we could potentially reduce the distortionary effects of other taxes and promote economic growth.

If you keep the other taxes, that benefit is reduced, compared to if other taxes were eliminating. (Though, on re-reading, I do see several bits of language that indicate you were thinking about not eliminating other taxes.)

[tzs]

> Its primary purpose is to encourage efficient use of land

"Efficient" by one specific measure--how much money you can make from the land. But who says that's the best measure to guide land use?

[yeos_]

Land ownership currently also encourages making the most money from the land, but an LVT makes speculative holding more expensive encouraging landowners and developers to actually utilize the land effectively in urban spaces.

What do you propose is the best measure to guide land use and what policies can be put in place to align those principles?