Down in Salem this session, our reps are trying to correct some of the damage done by land speculators (yet who _doesn't_ hope the land under their home goes up when they're selling? but here I mean the _professional_ speculators). The House Revenue Committee is pushing HJR 45, which would partially lift the lid on the property tax, which had been capped by previous voter initiatives (#5 and #50). If society could recover and share some of the values it creates, which mainly attach to land, then we'd be doing real "geonomics". Humans, ever hopeful of eating our cake and keeping it, too, find the notion of capping or even repealing the property tax appealing. Yet that tax is actually two taxes in one, part on land and part on buildings; when untaxed, both parts behave differently. Wherever people succumb to the siren song to cap or gut the property tax, the price of land skyrockets into the realm of unaffordable, mortgages get unbearable and all the debt makes the economy top-heavy and unstable, and government turns to fees which generally are more regressive than the property tax. Most people would be made much better off by a shift of the property tax off buildings, onto land. Doing so, you avoid punishing owners who make improvements and spur owners who're merely speculating or procrastinating to develop central sites. When owners put presently wasted parcels to good use - ever notice all the parking lots and vacant lots around town? - that in-fill adds to the housing stock, draws investment, generates jobs, reduces traffic and sprawl, etc. No wonder this shift of the property tax has worked wherever tried. Don't worry about the rate on land being too high. In most places, most people would pay less land tax than they do now as property tax. And to further save money, as does Aspen CO, we can always redirect some of the revenue back to us residents as a dividend (a bit like Alaska's oil dividend). HJR 45 has had one public hearing in mid March. Before the committee votes on it again, it needs to be amended so that the value of land, of the location, is no longer capped but the value of buildings, of improvements, would remain capped or even be exempted from the property tax entirely. Please remind the chair of the Revenue Committee of these benefits awaiting Oregon and urge him to amend HJR 45 so that it treats improvements and locations as separate categories for taxation. Other states are considering similar legislation. You can use your own wording or if you want to save time, you can use the sample letter below. Whatever you send, please copy me, then later whatever response you receive, too. How to reach House Revenue Committee Chair Phil Barnhart is in the sample letter below. Please act right now as the committee will be voting soon. On behalf of our corner of the planet, big thanks. All other eco-reform rests upon rational, non-wasteful use of land. ------------------------ Representative Phil Barnhart 900 Court St. NE., H-481, Salem, OR, 97301 503-986-1411Email: rep.philbarnhart@state.or.us Website: http://www.leg.state.or.us/barnhart Re: Improve HJR 45 Hon. Chairman Barnhart; Your committee has done good work in introducing HJR 45 which would partially lift the lid on the property tax. You could make HJR 45 even more effective by lifting the lid only on land value while keeping the cap on built value. That way, you avoid punishing owners who make improvements and spur owners who're merely speculating or procrastinating to develop central sites. When owners put presently wasted parcels to good use, that adds to the housing stock, draws investment, generates jobs, reduces traffic and sprawl, etc. This shift of the property tax has worked wherever tried. These benefits and more await Oregon. Please amend HJR 45 so that it treats improvements and locations as separate categories for taxation, letting land be taxed up to full market value and buildings be exempted entirely, if voters so choose. Other states are considering similar legislation. Many thanks for your attention to this powerful tool for rational land use. Sincerely, SMITH, Jeffery J. President, Forum on Geonomics jjs@geonomics.org; www.geonomics.org Share Earth's worth to prosper and conserve.