Why No One Likes Land Taxes
Economists and [insert basically every other group of people] often don’t agree. Take, for instance, the recent discussion of price controls. The headline of this opinion piece on the subject in The New York Times literally begins with “Economists Hate This Idea.” Yet voters aren’t so skeptical. (I’m not ready to say the idea has the popularity that the piece claims.)
Another area of disagreement is taxation. Economists tend to prefer taxes like property taxes; voters despise them. Economists think corporate taxes are among the worst ways to raise revenue; voters think corporations should pay more. Economists generally prefer consumption taxes to income taxes, whereas voters tend to prefer income taxes.
I say “prefer” and “think,” but it’s not just some whim. It pops out of many models and there’s research pointing in the same direction.