<!doctype html public "-//W3C//DTD W3 HTML//EN"> <html><head><style type="text/css"></style><title>Re: [lbo-talk] Georgism on the left</title></head><body> <blockquote type="cite" cite>How come so few left-of-center folks are Georgists?</blockquote> <div><br></div> <div>That's easy.</div> <div><br></div> <div>Let's see... The land under the Empire State Building should be taxed at the same rate as the land under the parking lot next to it?  Come on. That doesn't make any sense. <g></div> <div><br></div> <div>Georgist taxation schemes are counter-intuitive to people who want to tax income and wealth and transactions.</div> <div><br></div> <div>How<u> exactly</u> does a land tax or license tax work?</div> <div><br></div> <div>Please compare it to sales taxes, income taxes, property taxes, etc.</div> <div><br></div> <div>I know that comparisons on a theoretical and philosophical basis are abundant, but comparisons on a practical level are almost non-existent. It's this practical explanation that is needed, IMHO, if Georgist taxation is to become adopted as a left-of-center key concept.</div> <div><br></div> <div>If Georgists think a land and/or license tax should used, then it needs to be explained to a larger population in ways that are comparable to current taxation schemes -- and the practical benefits must be made obvious and the resulting changes must be made plain.</div> <div><br></div> <div>Regards,</div> <div>Keith</div> </body> </html>