Since the Empire State Building sits on the same size plot of land as my house we should pay the same taxes. Oh sure, that's a good idea.:rolleyes:

You decide for yourself...are you an original classical liberal, geo-libertarian or one of the fraudulent neo-libertarian?

I am what is best described as a sycamore liberal. Yep, that works.

No pal - but if the two plots were the same size & side by side in the NYC location of the Empire State Building you would. Now you as the homeowner would get killed based on the site valuation of that particular location (as you should) because you are under-utilizing your land. But the Empire State Building pays no taxes on the building (fruits of someones labor)rent it collects and easily affords the site valuation and makes a nice profit tax free...

get it now?

Good then as a card carrying member of the Green Party you won't mind my telling you to go hug a tree!

Who said I was a card carrying member of the Green Party?

Now we're getting somewhere! OK, who sets the valuation of the land, by what method?

Not you - me, pal

Buyers and sellers in the free market pal, every heard of it?

Some kind of laissez-faire political economists started that term many years ago...I think they were called Physiocrats one of which was Adam Smith. Hmmm sems to me somewhere else there is a posting on this topic.

Adam Smith

Oh boy...

can anyone here believe a self-described "green" is giving a lecture on the "free market" to a guy who claims to be a "libertarian" granted of the "neo" flavored but...

what is the world of ours coming to?

on second thought - is it our world?

Not the value of the land; the valuation. Who decides how much the land is worth FOR TAX PURPOSES?

Can I buy the land under the Empire State Building for $1 in a sweetheart deal or structured deal and thus have it valued at $1 for tax purposes?

Man! These original handles are killing me!

I am going to make this real simple for my first graders...

Ok class repeat after me:

Buyer - how much do you want to sell that land under the Empire State Building for?

Seller - two billion dollars

Buyer - too high for my pocketbook but you have just set your land valuation

Class - that is called the free market. The buyer (who just happens to be a private tax assessor) ask the seller what he wants for the land under the building. If the buyer thinks it is too high he sends him a land valuation bill. If the buyer thinks it is too low he buys it.

see this way everyone is happy (no force no fraud) and did you notice that there are no gov't agents snooping around?

good, because that scares the beejeezes out of the those neo-libertarians!

Type slower so I get it: why does the landowner have to set a selling price at all? If they set that price, and someone agrees to it, are they then obligated to sell?