Milton Friedman called it "the least bad tax", Paul Krugman called it "the right approach to finance growth", and the Chief Economist of Redfin called it "the tax policy that can fix housing". So what is a land value tax, and why is it so rarely implemented despite broad support from economists across the political spectrum? What economic incentives do standard property taxes create and how can we reshape those incentives to create a property tax system that is both more efficient and more equitable, while also increasing housing production?

Luke Teater is an independent policy economist specializing in housing and land use issues. Luke was one of the lead authors of Proposition 123, which passed in 2022 creating new financing tools for the production of affordable housing in Colorado. In addition to supporting the state's implementation of this initiative he is currently leading the development of new data tools to map the regulatory and financial barriers to housing production across Colorado. Prior to founding Thrive Economics in late 2021, Luke was Chief Economist and Deputy Director in Governor Polis's Office of State Planning and Budgeting.

A recording of this presentation is available here: https://youtu.be/z3clGvSCp3M