• Schlemmy
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    2 months ago

    What do you mean? Where did it not catch on? In Belgium (Flanders) you pay taxes on unused property, whether it is a building or a vacant plot.

    • tal@lemmy.today
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      2 months ago

      It’s a very specific system where government revenue comes from a tax on the value of land (and not even on improvements on that land, so a mansion on land wouldn’t be taxed, for example).

      Most countries have some form of property tax. IIRC the UK is the only G7 country that doesn’t, has a mostly-flat-rate council tax, though they do have a transfer tax on sale of real estate. But property tax isn’t a land value tax, and having one doesn’t make a country Georgist.

      I’m fairly confident that there are no countries that have gone for deriving their revenue from a land value tax.

      • Schlemmy
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        2 months ago

        The tax that I’m talking about is calculated on the value that has been attributed by the cadastre. You pay it when you own the property without having a building or any other land use on site.

        Then, when there is a building on the plot that isn’t being used as intended you get taxed on that. The rate is increased by 100% every year with a maximum of 4 increases resulting in a maximal tax of 500% of the base tax.

        This is besides from the standard property tax that makes up an average of 50% of municipalities incomes. There are municipalities in Belgium they get up to 90% of their working funds out of those taxes.