rural idiocy

Max B. Sawicky maxsaw at cpcug.org
Sat May 9 09:34:57 PDT 1998



> Right. In Johannesburg, 40% of the land within ten kilometers radius
> of the centre of our fine city is vacant (according to a 1991 World
> Bank study); moreover the Central Business District has gone from 5%
> vacancy rates to more than 50% in some blocks, and Africa's tallest
> building, the Carlton Centre (owned and operated by Anglo American
> Corporation) has just closed its 5-star hotel and is likely to close
> the 50-floor tower itself within a few months.
>
> . . .

Which raises the question of the Henry George solution, namely a tax on the site value of land, and a parallel premium -- either a zero or lower rate -- on improvements on land (fixed capital?). Proponents of the tax argue that it means that holding an unusued or under-utilized parcel of land is tantamount to burning money, and the tax will accelerate development. It could also displace existing residents, however. Anybody talking about this in S.A.?

MBS



More information about the lbo-talk mailing list