Harberger Taxes on Real Property

What are the basics? What are the challenges? And can it solve housing affordability?

A vacant lot in Philadelphia in 2011. By Mike Linksvayer

Crypto cities offer us the chance to experiment with new ways of governing, new ways of voting, and new ways of taxing. Instead of saying “well, every country has an income tax; it’s the way civilization has done it for thousands of years!” You can start again from first principles and ask, “What is the best, most efficient way to raise revenue, discourage behaviors that we don’t want, and encourage the behaviors that we do?” One new approach, called Harberger Taxes, is a radical departure from typical tax systems and is currently being considered as a scheme for a piece of property owned by a digital organization called CityDAO.

Harberger Taxes can seem like a silver bullet for solving things like urban sprawl and affordable housing shortages. But they could also unintentionally exacerbate wealth gaps and gentrification. To unpack the positives and negatives (and explain the basics) I wrote an article¹ for the CityDAO Journal. I’m sharing it here as its something that could applicable to all crypto cities.

CityDAO Journal #6: Harberger Taxes on Land and Real Property - Initial Thoughts

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Tags: hashGovernance hashLandUseAndProperty

Footnotes

1. This article was made possible with funding by the CityDAO Research and Education Guild.