The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1881-07-21
Taxing Land Values.
ALbetiUe Medium,

l
Recently friend sent us a work by
Henry George, entitled Progress and
Poverty" for which we return thanks
Mr. George believes that the government
should be supported by taxation of land
and not of production. Last week we
published All article from II correspondent
OF the aiken journal and Reriew ad.
vancing the same view. The last nun.
her ~ the North -:S;c7-iicd;s iH1ttvi;eip cou.
tains al article from Mr.. George on the
same subject Mr.. George is now deliy.
ering public addresses on the question
so we may suppose that this mode O,
taxation will have full discussion. The
| recent publications of cone who thinks
SLOW that the very greatest frauds are
perpetrated without scruplo by our own
people in rendering il. their assessments
ana the times demand some change in
our system. We therefore give some ol
the views of Dir. George without express
Ing an opinion on them, and let the peo.
pie think about them:
| For, keeping in mind the fact that all
wealth is the result OF human exertion.
1t Is clearly seen that, having in view tho
promotion Of the general prosperity. it is
The height of absur,lity to tax wealth for
purposes of revenue while there remains
unexhaustcd by taxation. any value at
tached to land. We may tax land values
as much as we please without in the
slightest degree lesscning the amount of
land, or the capabilities of ,aiid. or tho
inducements to use land. But we cannot
tax wealth without lessening the induce.
mcnts to the productions of wealth. and
decreasing the amount Of wealth. We
might take the whole value of land in
taxation, 50 a. TO make the ownership of
land worth nothing, and the land would
still remain, and be as useful as before.
Ihc effect would be to throw land open
TO users tree of price, and thus to in
crease its capabilities, which are brought
out by increased population. But i'm.
pose anything like such taxation upon
wealth and the inducement 10 the pro.
duction Of wealth would be gone. Nov
able wealth would be hidden or carried
. OH, immovable would be suffered to 90 To
decay, and where was prosperity would
soon be the silence of desolation.
"To illustrate: A man builds fine
house or large factory in poorly i'm
proved neighborhood. To tax this build
ing and It's adjuncts is 10 make him nav
for his enterprise and cxpenditure-to
take from him part Of his natural reward.
But the improvement thus mado has
given new beauty or life to the neghbor
hood, making it more desirable place
than before for the erection of other
houses or factories, and additional value
IS given 10 land all about. Now to tax
improvements is not only to deprive OF
his proper reward the man who has made
the Improvement, but it il to deter
| others from making similar improve.
memts. But, instead of taxing i'm
provements, to tax these land values
! is 10 leave the natural inducement
to further improvement in full force, and
| at the same time 10 keep down an OBJ
s'acie to further improvement which,
under the present system, improvement
itself tends to raise. For the advance of
land values which follows Improvement,
and even the expectation of improve
ment, makes further improvement more
costly.
"Or, take the case of railroads. That
railroads are public benefit 10 one will
dispute. We want more railroads, and
want them to reduce their fares and
irelghts.. Why then should We tax
| them Tor taxes upon railroads deter
from railroad building and compel higher
charges. Instead of taxing the rail
SlOulu
rather tax the increased value which they
give to land? To tax railroads il 10
check railroad building, to reduce profits
and compel higher rates; to taS the
value they give To land is TO increase rail.
| road business and permit lower rates.
SO with railroads everywhere. And
SO not alone with railroads, but with all
Industrial enterprises. So long as we
consider that community most prosper
Gus which increases most rapidly in
wealth, so long is it the height of alb.
surdity for us To tax wealth in any of its
beneficial forms. We should tax what
we want TO represS. not what we war. 10
encourage. We should tax that VI III
results from the general prosperity, not
that which conduces TO it. II is the in
crease OF population, the extension of
cultivation, the manufacture Of goods,
the building of houses and ships and
railroads, the accumulation of capital
. and the growth of commerce that adds to
the value of land-nu the increase in
the value of land that induces tho in
crease Of population and increase OF
wealth. 1t Is not that the land of Man
haitian Island is now worth hundreds of
millions where, in the time of the early
Dutch settlers, it was only worth dollars /;
that there is on it now 80 many more
people and 30 much more wealth. It is
because Of the increase of population
and the increase of wealth that the value
of the land is so much increased. In.
crease of land values tends of itself to
repel population and prevent improve
ment. And thus the taxation OF land
values, unlike taxation of other property,
does not tend to prevent the increase of
wealth, but rather to stimulate it. It
is the taking of the golden egg, not the
choking of the goose that lays it"