"Tax economists overwhelmingly support the idea that a tax on land represents an excellent source for government revenue."
CHOICE

Economists know that the optimum conditions for private enterprise are achieved when taxes on the earned incomes of labour and capital are reduced to zero but, because neoclassical economic theory insists on treating land as capital, they dismiss the obvious alternative to taxing labour and capital - the unearned income from land.

Prof. Mason Gaffney explains the importance of recognising land as a distinctive factor of production and the consequences of its uniqueness for economic policy, for example, that land rents are subject to market forces quite different from those that determine return on capital. Prof. Tideman brings together the classical literature on land taxation to explain the argument that such taxation is an economically efficient and ethical revenue source.

Reform of the structure of public finance would make it possible to restore full employment without causing inflation and to reduce the overall tax burden.