Energetic Georgist Dave Wetzel was recently invited to submit a letter to Property Week, a UK magazine. Wetzel presented land value taxation's benefits, and how LVT relates to current concerns about property values and taxation in the United Kingdom:

The Government's apparent keenness to consider the Planning Gain Supplement fails to recognise the failure of previous UK development land taxes, where they have increased land prices, frozen development and reduced GDP.

The Government would be better advised to consider the success of Harrisburg in the USA where the introduction of an annual Land Value Tax over 25 years ago means that land is taxed six times greater than the tax on buildings.

Since the introduction of LVT (they call it the two-tier tax), Harrisburg has seen increased inward investment, the use of empty sites, the growth of taxable businesses from 1,908 to 8,864, unemployment fallen by 19% and the crime rate dropped by a staggering 58%!

Stephen R Reed, the Mayor of Harrisburg, states that his policy rewards the productive use of land and tends to discourage real estate speculation by irresponsible absentee owners.

He further says, "Without hesitation we can commend the importance and benefit of the land value tax policy. It has worked in Harrisburg and in other communities where it has existed."

Why does the UK Government wish to only tax developers? With LVT they could collect a legitimate annual income from *all* sites. In Philadelphia, many businesses are calling for the benefits of LVT and one of the loudest voices is the organisation of realtors (estate agents) who clearly identify that LVT will bring prosperity not only for their profession but also for the whole community."’