Economics @ Transition Exeter: A land value tax

The latest monthly newsletter from Transition Exeter is just out:
Transition Exeter June 2014 Newsletter

With a particularly interesting piece:

Report: The Earth Sharing Economy

Speakers from the Henry George Society, at our public meeting in April, explained that rent for the use of land (rather than for the buildings upon it) is the money that landlords get for doing absolutely nothing, and should be taxed rather than income that people have worked hard for. 

A land value tax would reduce the value of land, mean that land wouldn’t be hoarded and there would be more available on the market; the land value tax could replace business tax and council tax and provide for a Citizens Income paid to everyone as of right to replace means tested benefits. The planning system would have to remain to prevent over-development.

Transition Exeter

The Henry George Society of Devon

Fostering and promoting a greater understanding of Georgist Economics in Devon

The Study of Political Economy
A lecture delivered by Henry George to the students of the University of California, Mar 9, 1877

The Henry George Society of Devon | Fostering and promoting a greater understanding of Georgist Economics in Devon

The main idea being a 'land value tax':



The Henry George Foundation

During his lifetime, he became the third most famous man in the United States, behind Thomas Edison and Mark Twain. His supporters included Leo Tolstoy, Albert Einstein, Winston Churchill and John Dewey, to name a few. Here's our Henry George quote of the day, and here is more on George's life and work.

Did you know that the game of Monopoly was originally invented as a teaching tool to help get across Henry George's economic principles? Here's an article on the history ofThe Landlord's Game, patented in 1904, which, under its new name —Monopoly — became the world's most popular board game!

Understanding Economics

Georgism is an economic philosophy and ideology which holds that people own what they create, but that income (economic rent) from things found in nature, most importantly from land, belongs equally to all.^[1] The philosophical basis of Georgism dates back to early proponents such as John Locke^[2] and Baruch Spinoza,^[3] but the concept was widely popularized by the economist and social reformer Henry George (1839–1897).^[4]

Georgists argue that a tax on land value is efficient, fair, and equitable; and that it can generate sufficient revenue so that other taxes (e.g. taxes on profits, sales or income), which are less fair and efficient, can be reduced or eliminated. Economists since Adam Smith have known that – unlike other taxes – a land value tax would not cause economic inefficiency.^[5] A land value tax would also be a progressive tax, since it would be paidprimarily by the wealthy, and would reduce economic inequality.^[6][7]

Georgism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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