Property Taxes in Cairo

There was an article in in Reason about housing and property taxes in Cairo, and this is not the first time I have read about architecture being influenced in odd ways by tax policy. For example, in Great Britain there used to be a tax on windows, which meant that houses often lacked windows, or at least have fewer than would otherwise be the case; people were needlessly denied light and air which they could have had.

In Cairo, there is a tax on houses, but it does not apply to unfinished houses, with the result that houses often remain unfinished for many years. To some extent, Egyptians may choose to do things differently from most Americans, for example, by expanding the finished portions of their houses when their families grow. It seems likely, though, that even Egyptians might prefer to live in better finished dwellings, but make a suboptimal choice because of taxes. It may be observed by your Georgist friend that the perverse effects of taxing windows or finished buildings could be avoided by taxing the value of the land instead.

The Red Queen’s Race

I finished and posted an Office Action on my one amendment, so now I have zero amendments on my docket.

I finished and posted an Office Action on my oldest (non-RCE) Regular New application.

Both of these were in October, and will therefore count as part of my production for the new quarter and the new Fiscal Year. I think that my production for the past quarter and Fiscal Year have been just enough to keep me out of serious trouble.

After finishing Office Actions on the first and second days of October, I went to work considering prior art for the Regular New application which is probably soon to become my oldest Regular New.