Endorsements of LVT

Iowa Commission on Urban Planning, Growth Management of Cities, and Protection of Farmland - January 1999

I. OTHER RECOMMENDATIONS

A. Representative Fallon recommended all of the following:
1. There should be an expedited process for approving permits for development within the boundaries of areas planned for development.
2. Iowa's zoning statutes should be reviewed in order to determine if they should be modernized.
3. Local governments should have a stronger opportunity to participate in decisions regarding local development carried out by state agencies, including the construction of highways by the Department of Transportation.
4. The state should provide tax incentives to persons who develop property in a manner that meets land use planning objectives as identified by the Commission. Specifically, land value taxation should be examined as a potential tool for cities in encouraging redevelopment.

Puget Sound Regional Council

POLICY BOARD MEETING HIGHLIGHTS July 13, 2000Growth Management Initiatives - Financial Incentives and Development Strategies
Commissioner Garrido continued the discussion that begin last month on the draft growth strategies initiatives being considered for inclusion in the 2001 Draft MTP Alternatives Analysis and Draft EIS. Physical Design Guidelines were discussed at the June joint meeting, and this month Commissioner Garrido discussed Financial Incentives and Development Strategies.Draft Financial Incentives, intended to influence transportation and land use choices by providing financial incentives and disincentives, include:

• Tax Increment Financing
  
• Multi-Family Tax Abatement
  
• Transit Tax Incentive
  
• Location Efficient Mortgages
  
• Revenue Sharing
  
• Land Value Taxation

More Question and Answer with Mayor John Norquist on Tuesday, January 26, 1999

The Landmark Series Q Have you looked at alternative property tax systems such as a two-tier land value based system to encourage efficient use?
A Great idea and almost impossible to get politically. Usually the constitutions in most states block it but it's been great for Pittsburgh. You almost can't find an empty lot in downtown Pittsburgh. They've done a lot of things wrong in Pittsburgh but one thing they did right was having this land value taxation so there's no incentive to have an empty lot. Having a parking lot doesn't make sense economically so the buildings fill in and you don't have these big empty spots. So if you can do it in Minnesota, go for it. It's good for the city.

Brunori, David. Metropolitan Taxation in the 21st Century. National Tax Journal, September 1998, 11(3), p. 541.

As we enter the 21st Century, local governments will face challenges to how they raise revenue. Existing local tax systems are ill equipped to meet future basic revenue needs. Moreover, economic and technological changes will inevitably and profoundly alter tax systems of all governments. The problems with existing tax systems and future economic challenges will likely lead to an environment in which local taxation will be limited to an extent unseen in American history. The limitations will challenge the ability of local governments to fund basic services-a function that must be performed. The limitations will also alter the relationship between local governments within a metropolitan area. The ability of local governments to use tax policy as a means of furthering economic development, i.e., competing with neighboring jurisdictions, will be greatly reduced. Finally local tax limitations will lead local governments to seriously consider an alternative system for collecting revenue-land value taxation.

Green Screens - AUGUST 1998 Tax Land Values and Control Sprawl

Most Northwest jurisdictions seek to prevent sprawl through the regulatory tools of land-use planning; none applies taxes to the same task. Yet shifting the property tax off of buildings and onto land values would turn it into a powerful incentive for investment in city and town centers and adjacent neighborhoods. Taxing sites but not buildings turbocharges growth management, spurring development of the most valuable locations in developed areas. A study of eight randomly selected urban and suburban neighborhoods in King County found that between 8 and 63 percent of residential land is currently vacant or radically underused. Existing zoning codes in the city of Seattle alone can accommodate an additional 113,000 housing units. Under land-value taxation, parking lots, a typical holding pattern for land speculators, give way to buildings. Supplies of apartment and office space increase. Rental prices moderate. This reform would more than double taxes on parking lots and vacant building lots, increase taxes by up to one-quarter on car-oriented commercial strip development, and moderately reduce taxes on pedestrian-oriented neighborhood shopping districts. It would reduce taxes by about one-third on the most land-efficient forms of housing -- apartments and condominiums -- and by about 5 percent for most single-family residences.