ndrosen

I attended the Common Ground USA membership meeting Sunday evening via Zoom. Georgists have been trying to get Baltimore to switch to a two-rate or, ideally, land-only property tax, which would require authorization from the Maryland Legislature, although other jurisdictions in Maryland could enact such a property tax reform if they so chose. Perhaps we could get Cumberland interested. Also, assessments are sadly imperfect in Baltimore, with vacant lots typically assessed at much less than lots which have buildings on them. Even with poor assessments, land value taxation can spur redevelopment, but it is much better to have accurate and up-to-date real estate assessments.

The mayor of Detroit tried to get land value taxation there, but the Michigan legislature, whose approval was required, voted it down. Al of the Republicans and a few Democrats opposed it. The mayor will now run as an independent candidate for Governor of Michigan; we’ll see what comes of that.

We also discussed upcoming conferences, at which we hope to meet people and get our ideas into circulation.