ACA Repeal/Replace: Progressives Face Moral Dilemma

[David Horn]

(09-06-2017, 11:59 AM)Warren Dew Wrote:

(09-06-2017, 09:53 AM)David Horn Wrote: ...  Property taxes don't fall strictly on those most able to pay, since much of the land being taxed is and will be rented by others of lesser means or added to the cost of goods produced on that land, since there aren't many large estates that have no economic product of some kind.  Expect a major rise in the cost of food, for example.  Those less able to pay defer other spending to pay those taxes.  Tax spending, on the other hand, improves the economy. 

And a word on tariffs: we raise ours and others raise theirs in response.  All that does is force us to produce goods and services we are less equipped to produce, lowering productivity and shrinking the economy.  Sorry, there is no free lunch.

The math on the subject contradicts you.  Land taxes do not increase rents; they only cut the income to the land owners.  This is because, with little exception, land is not something that is produced, and thus is not something whose production can be depressed through taxes.

It's odd that you folks on the right insist that costs are always passed through, except when it's inconvenient.  If land is limited and demand exceeds supply, then costs can always be passed through.  If supply exceeds demand, those land taxes will create downward pressure on the land values and taxes will decline.  If the burden is deemed to be too great, the land will be abandoned.  If the burden is light, inadequate revenues will be obtained.  More to the point, the value of almost all new assets will be exempt entirely.  Software and most services have no need of land anywhere.

I know that this contradicts the opinion of several noted economists, but so be it.  Find the error in my logic, if you can.