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Re:The Rise of the Professional Airbnb Investor by sokoloff on Sunday February 19, 2017 @09:41AM (#13679920)
Land value taxes will end up being paid by the tenant. The landlord will only handle the money.

The tenant, as the one "consuming" the land for that term is the one who ought to pay the tax for the value of the land. It's only when the land is unoccupied that the owner/landlord will pay (which is also perfectly fair).

With apologies to Henry Ford: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/h/henryford122318....

Re:The Rise of the Professional Airbnb Investor by branchless on Sunday February 19, 2017 @10:30AM (#13680132)
Totally wrong. You can't pass on land value tax, prices are set by the ability to pay and taxing the landlord does not increase the ability of the tenant to pay.

You don't know how prices are set.

Re:The Rise of the Professional Airbnb Investor by jessriedel on Sunday February 19, 2017 @12:14PM (#13680681)
You're making the claim that demand for housing is infinitely inelastic, which just isn't the case. If something causes the price of all housing to rise, people will be forced to devote a larger fraction of their income to housing.
Re:The Rise of the Professional Airbnb Investor by sokoloff on Sunday February 19, 2017 @01:15PM (#13681018)
Yes. Especially if the thing that causes rental house prices to rise also causes alternatives to rental housing to rise...
Re:The Rise of the Professional Airbnb Investor by branchless on Sunday February 19, 2017 @02:01PM (#13681264)
No you are wrong, that's not how prices are set. Supply in urban centres is already below demand leading to bidding, setting the price by affordability.

We just had this in the UK. The government put up costs for landlords who all said rents would rise. They fell because people have less money due to inflation in other cost areas.

Re:The Rise of the Professional Airbnb Investor by sokoloff on Sunday February 19, 2017 @10:33AM (#13680154)
Who do you think pays the real estate taxes now in an occupied rental? Where does the money come from? Why are those answers different (or the same)?
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Re:The Rise of the Professional Airbnb Investor by sokoloff on Sunday February 19, 2017 @02:19PM (#13681373)
Yes, even my children can understand this.
Re:The Rise of the Professional Airbnb Investor by branchless on Sunday February 19, 2017 @03:27PM (#13681795)
Re:The Rise of the Professional Airbnb Investor by sokoloff on Sunday February 19, 2017 @03:38PM (#13681838)
I substantially agree with Friedman that taxing the unimproved value of land is the least bad tax, but I see no evidence to suggest that he thinks it will be paid effectively by the legal owner of the property (the landlord) rather than passing it along to the beneficial user of the property (the tenant).

It would seem strange indeed that the user would pay the tax if they owned the house, but would avoid entirely the effect of the tax if they rented the property and the landlord would pay the tax entirely, passing along none of it to the tenant.

I have serious doubts that either of us will convince the other on this topic. With that, I wish you well and if you wish to never own property, may you entirely avoid the effects of land value taxes.