Differential effects of land value taxation

Abstract

This paper makes the first attempt to empirically examine the effect of site value taxation on the value of land and explore the differential effects across various types of land use. Using municipality-level panel data, the study shows that raising the tax rate on land while lowering the tax rate on buildings leads to an increase in land value per acre. Further, this impact differs between residential land and commercial and industrial land. Residential land appears to be more responsive to changes in the tax differential than commercial and industrial land. The paper contributes to the literature on land value taxation by testing important theories that have never been tested before and offering the first empirical evidence on the impact of site value taxation on land value.