Incentive Property Taxation

Abstract

In their efforts to find more effective policies and mechanisms for urban growth management, planners have yet to step off the regulatory plateau and discover new approaches elsewhere. The subject of this study undertaken in Vancouver, WA and Seattle is “incentive” property taxation linked to growth management. Using county property assessment files, hypothetical tax applications were performed on classes of land use. Simulating a heavy tax on land values and light tax on improvement values demonstrated the shifting of tax burden onto the land-extensive uses associated with urban sprawl, such as parking lots, and the reduction of tax burden on land-intensive uses such as apartments and office buildings. The study suggests that property owners might respond to tax-based financial inducements to reduce the ratio of land-to-improvements value by building more intensively on underutilized sites. Prospects for infill development and the appropriation of speculative gain are also examined.