Land Value Taxation and Eco-taxation

This Report is a preliminary exploration of the inter-relationship between two forms of taxation: the long established land value taxation an the recently emerging eco-taxation. The exploration starts with comparing the distinct nature of the two forms (Sec 1 and Sec 2) and then the link between them (Sec 3) and the possible application of LVT to supplement eco-taxation (Sec 4).

Having explored the nature and linkage between the two forms of taxation we then switch direction in the remaining part of the Report. The switch stems from our view that future work to be undertaken would benefit from placing land value taxation and eco-taxation in a broader context. This is their contribution to the fundamental issue with which the world is concerned, namely the relationship between Nature on the one hand and man’s institutions affecting Nature on the other, in the context of the concern of the human population on Planet Earth to sustain the quality of life of that population, both in the contemporary generations and also in the future.

This global exploration is sketched out in Diagram 1 in a provisional conceptual holistic model (Sec 5). We do not then further explore Nature itself but instead man’s institutions, which provide the human impact on the planet’s environment and natural resources. For this, in turn, we therefore explore the three components of these institutions shown in the model, namely land ownership and occupation (Sec 6), government planning, management and regulation as a basis for Government intervention in socio-economic activities in order to achieve better sustainability for current and future generations (Sec 7) and major shifts in the categories of Government taxation from the economically productive to the economically and socially disruptive. (Sec 8). In brief this shows how the on-going pressures to divert taxation from productive resources which create wealth to the damaging activities which destroy the wealth embodied in Nature, in particular natural resources, energy and the environment. In introducing this aspect the discussion introduces once more, within the context of taxation, the relationship between LVT and eco-taxation.

Since it is now accepted that the moves towards improved sustainability require international agreement and action (as evidenced at the World Conferences in Rio and Kyoto) there needs to be some vision of an international strategy for world-wide natural resource management (Sec 9) within which there also needs to be an extended concept of the traditional land policy of the Lincoln Institute towards a land policy for natural resource management (Sec 10).

Finally we set out a proposed Terms of Reference for a study in greater depth (Sec 11). For this we visualise using as a basis the exploration in the present report.