Taiwan monitors land value

Shin Kong Life Tower
photo of Shin Kong Life Tower from Wikimedia

Much like Korea, Japan, and other advanced countries, Taiwan has a land value tax which requires it to monitor land value regularly.  And they do, apparently pretty well, as indicated by this report that 2011 land values average 8.65% over the previous year. The land value tax could be one of the reasons Taiwan seems to be more prosperous than most countries, but that isn’t my point.

My point is that assessing land value is not exceedingly difficult, if one has competent and reasonably honest assessors.  The most valuable land in Taiwan is reportedly under the Shin Kong Life Tower, NT$1.21 million per square meter (about $4,000 per square foot, a figure probably never seen in Chicago).

Thanks to the Facebook LVT group for the link.

4 thoughts on “Taiwan monitors land value”

  1. How does Taiwan’s tax work? Is it levied based on the full rental value of the land, or just on some percentage thereof? The linked article makes clear that there is still land speculation.

    1. Like many countries, Taiwan had a land value tax that collected a substantial portion of full rental value, but never all of it. The landlords therefore retained some economic (and political) power, and tax rates have not been raised to keep up with actual increases in rent. Similar situations occurred in other countries; Jamaica and Japan come to mind. The documentation is in Land Value Taxation Around the World, which I have read but do not have a copy of handy. Of course that book is about a decade old and there have been further developments, which afaik have not been systematically documented.

      1. I’ve been wanting to read Land Value Taxation Around the World since a year ago, when I first saw it referenced in Critics of Henry George. Is the historical information interesting enough to justify reading it?

        Also, Jamaica?! Wow.

        1. For anyone who wants to understand land value taxation, I would recommend this book. There’s quite a bit of history in it, including some articles about ancient times and some “modern” examples such as early-20th-century China. Articles on each country each include some history. If you choose to buy it, the paperback from Schalkenbach is cheaper than any price I find on bookfinder4u. Bookfinder4u explained to me that Schalkenbach does not provide the necessary hooks to include their store in Bookfinder4u’s prices.

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