PlanPhilly on land taxes and their role in the mayoral campaign

 As part of his education-funding policy, mayoral candidate Jim Kenney has proposed revising incorrect land assessments. (Bas Slabbers/for NewsWorks)

As part of his education-funding policy, mayoral candidate Jim Kenney has proposed revising incorrect land assessments. (Bas Slabbers/for NewsWorks)

Today, NinetyNine’s good friends over at PlanPhilly took a closer look at one particular aspect of mayoral candidate Jim Kenney’s education-funding platform, that being his proposal to “revise” incorrect Actual Value Initiative land assessments as a means to collect more taxes from abated and vacant properties.

According to PlanPhilly‘s Jon Geeting…

[U]nder-assessing land is essentially a tax break for speculators — people who strategically hold vacant land off-market in hot areas until rents go even higher. Kenney wants to “get speculators to improve this land, or at the very least pay a higher tax for doing nothing with it.”

The idea is that the higher correct land assessments would raise the cost to landowners of not improving land, nudging them to either build on their lot, sell it to someone who wants to build sooner, or simply pay a higher tax bill.

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There’s much, much more in the PlanPhilly report, so check it out via this link.

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