From: stephen@sprunk.org   
      
   On 28-Mar-15 18:39, Adam H. Kerman wrote:   
   > Stephen Sprunk  wrote:   
   >> The house is more interesting.  Take the lot's last selling price,   
   >> subtract the land value, and what remains must be the   
   >> improvements' value.   
   >   
   > There's a factor for changes to the property to consider to   
   > accomodate the house.   
   >   
   > I suppose if one doesn't wish to use the existing building, or the   
   > current building is a wreck due to fire, but it's still desireable to   
   > build on the site, once money is spent to clear the site, the value   
   > of the vacant site could be higher than the value of the site that   
   > requires clearance.   
      
   If the current use is not the highest and best use of the land, then the   
   total property value should be less than the land value, to account for   
   the cost of clearing the current improvements.  IOW, the improvements'   
   value would be negative--yet another reason to tax only land value.   
      
   Also, improvements depreciate (absent major remodeling), so they should   
   naturally be less and less of the property's value over time, eventually   
   turning negative as above.  My jurisdiction gets this wrong, increasing   
   my home's value every year but leaving the land value constant--despite   
   a new freeway, major commercial developments, etc. nearby that have   
   pushed up the value of every property in the city.  It isn't worth   
   arguing about, though, since the tax is on the total value; if they   
   taxed only my land value, I bet they'd get it right.   
      
   >> (Note that the current vogue is to tax the combined value of land   
   >> and improvements, with no distinction.  It would be better to tax   
   >> just the land value at a higher rate, but AFAIK nobody actually   
   >> does that.)   
   >   
   > Well, various towns in Pennsylvania until recently; Pittsburgh was   
   > the largest.   
      
   Ah, okay.  I knew there were some in Europe a long time ago, but I   
   didn't know there were any in the US.  Why did they change?   
      
   S   
      
   --   
   Stephen Sprunk         "God does not play dice."  --Albert Einstein   
   CCIE #3723         "God is an inveterate gambler, and He throws the   
   K5SSS        dice at every possible opportunity." --Stephen Hawking   
      
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