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Why land tax is better than stamp duty.

A transfer tax such as stamp duty can be avoided or deferred by holding out or not selling.  It distorts the timing of sale decisions, thus hindering prompt re-allocation of land to higher and better uses.

All distortions of market decisions create excess burdens.

By contrast, a uniform land value rate is a holding charge – you can do nothing to avoid it.  If you sell, the buyer discounts the price for the annual holding charge attached to the land:-

i.e. Price = net rent/i

So, don’t let anybody try to tell you that there’s very little difference between stamp duty and land tax!