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Georgist Economics - Bill Batt

Georgist Philosophy
Land Use and Planning
Economic Efficiency and Development
Prompted by the need for simple presentations that would quickly show the merits of taxing land values alone and not improvements, I was inspired to put together these pieces. Taxing the flow of value that passes through land sites, what economists call rent, is the most perfect basis of taxation. Over 200 years ago Adam Smith argued that “Ground-rents and the ordinary rent of land, are . . . the species of revenue which can best bear to have a peculiar tax imposed on them." Most recently Nobel Laureate Joseph Stiglitz wrote "One of the general principles of taxation is that one should tax factors that are inelastic in supply, since there are no adverse supply side effects. Land does not disappear when it is taxed. Henry George, a great progressive of the late nineteenth century, argued, partly on this basis, for a land tax." Taxes on rents from natural resources are the perfect tax. They don't influence market choices. They are easily collected and impossible to evade. They are commensurate with one's ability to pay, and they are easily visible for all to see.
Implementation of Georgist Practices
Alternative to Tax Caps and Freezes
Taxation and Economic Justice
Transportation
Urban Revitalization
Bill Batt short CV
An expert on government finance, taxation and transportation policy, Dr. Batt's CV can be found here.
Batt's Suozzi Commission Contributions 2009
Governor Spitzer appointed a commission to address the property tax burdens of homeowners in January 2008, a charge continued by Governor Patterson. Its formal name was the New York State Commission on Property Tax Relief, and it soon came to be known as the Suozzi Commission after its chairman, Tom Suozzi, Executive Director of Nassau County. It presented its final report in December of that year, but there was no immediate legislative action. Dr. Bill Batt was one of those who both testified and wrote a number of papers in an effort to influence the commission's findings. Although some of his work was listed in the final report, there is no indication that it had any impact on the conclusions put forth. Batt's papers are included here in the format they were submitted.
Absentee Home-ownership in Upstate New York Cities
Upstate New York Cities are dying. One of the reasons is the lack of care given to the inventory of residential parcels. (To be sure, non-residential parcels are also deteriorating, but for somewhat different reasons.) Structures that still have, or could have, considerable useful life are quickly becoming derelict. They having fallen into the hands of absentee owners who are bleeding them for their rental income with little thought to their long term investment. Where many of these homes were foreclosed upon, they have become income-producing property for parties that have the means to exploit their remaining use. The problem has existed for years, but has become a widespread practice in the wake of the recent real estate bubble's crash. Already one can find many parcels that have been totally abandoned, but the number will certainly increase in the next decade or two. Some data and accompanying maps show the extent of the problem. The single greatest means by which to stem the tide of this deterioration is a shift in the design of the real property tax. This paper offers an outline of how this can be accomplished.
Problems of Property Tax Design and Administration
It is important to distinguish between the theoretical merits of various tax revenue designs as compared with their practical application and administration. From the standpoint of tax theory, measured according to the textbook principles of sound taxation that have been recognized for hundreds of years, it is quite clear that taxation of what economists call "rents" makes the most sense. Some nine Nobel prize winning economists have endorsed such a view, coming from all persuasions and from every part of the political spectrum. Most recently statements have come from Columbia Professor Joseph Stiglitz and James K. Galbraith (the son of John Kenneth Galbraith) in testimony before the US Senate.
The Merits of Taxing Land Value and Other Rents
The reality of economic rent, also sometimes called Ricardian rent or ground rent, is accepted as the most suitable of all tax sources, at least by those economists and others that understand it. As current discourse unfolds, it is now more often a question of what proportion economic rent constitutes in an economy. Traditionally it has been believed to be about a third, but neoclassical economics has trivialized the amount to the point where it has been ignored in public discussion. If the public were hospitable, it would not be difficult to make a shift off taxes on labor and capital goods to taxes on rents where they would in fact foster economic vitality rather than be deleterious. These presentations provide summary reviews of how land value taxation can work, using both theoretical and empirical arguments.
Book Reviews of Bill Batt
Op-Ed Pieces, Mostly Published in Media
Land Value Maps Can Reveal Assessment Soundness
Land value maps have a history going back centuries, as the earlier article recounts. But only Geographic Information Systems really show how well or poorly they are now done. At the beginning of the 20th century systematic methodologies were developed to better assess land parcels, and land value maps reflected these. The labor-intensive demands for their preparation allowed only intermittent preparation, and then only by the wealthiest localities. New York City remained a leader in their development until the mid 1930s, when financial astringenies demanded that even its offices cut back.
How Much Rent Is there?
This piece has been cut in two, because an editor said it's too long to be put into one issue. It hasn't been accepted yet, and so I'm still looking for a venue that won't take a year to get out there.