I am an advocate for Land Valuation Taxation(LVT), arguing that such a tax is both economically efficient and morally just. As a result l align my ideas to those of Henry George.

Now Henry George was a nineteenth century Economist, who argued that land, being a natural resource, should be taxed to capture the unearned increment in its value. He argued that it avoids distorting economic incentives, as it targets the value of land itself, rather than the value of buildings and capital goods. And that it is morally justified, suggesting that the value of land is largely a result of societal contribution rathe than individual effort.

In cities, LVT can be a way to capture the “agglomeration value” of productive cities, which is more often captured by land owners rather that shared by the wider community. Agglomeration value being the benefits that firms and industries gain from clustering in specific locations, leading to increased productivity, lower costs, and innovation.

Whilst supporting LVT, l acknowledge that it is not a perfect solution and other reforms may also be necessary to address economic challenges. But we should not forget its success in East Asian cities like Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan etc. And we also have practical challenges of implementing LVT, such as valuing land accurately and over coming public resistance to property tac reforms.