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Announcing the
United Nations Habitat Agency
Global Land Tool Network =
Land Value Taxation Project
By =
Pub=
lished
November 2006.
I am pleased to inform the worldwide Georgist movement that the Land
Value Tax/ Capture (LVT/C) Project agreement with the United Nations Habita=
t Global Land Tool Network is now formal and official!
Twelve
years of persistent work of the United Nations NGO Representatives for the
International Union for Land Value Taxation have proved to be well worthwhi=
le.
The door is now open for acceptance and implementation of land value tax
worldwide via our now formal working relationship with UN Habitat.
The
eight-page contract (attached -
Click here!) begins with background information on both the UN
Habitat Global Land Tool Networ=
k
and land value taxation and capture policy. Here is the beautiful last
paragraph of the first section:
The
natural world is rightfully the common property of all persons, and therefo=
re
the LVT is not really a tax, but simply the collection of rent (a user fee)=
on
behalf of the community. For eight thousand years worldwide, LVT has been t=
he
primary basis for producing public revenue and is easy for people to
understand. LVT is the approp=
riate
instrument for the urgent fight against global inequity and poverty.
UN
Habitat is responsible for Goal 7 of the Millennium Development Goals
(MDGs) to:
In additi=
on, MDG
3 on empowerment of women, which has been expanded to include womenR=
17;s
property rights as one of the indicators, requires the gendering of tools. =
A GLTN Advisory Group=
of
currently thirty expert Georgists have committed to work on the LVT/C proje=
ct.
The team of UN NGO Representatives for the International Union for Land Val=
ue
Taxation will have much to contribute as well. Georgist organizations and
individuals worldwide are welcome to add to the success of this project.
- - -
Here are details of t=
he
specific development goals and LVT/C Project goals, activities, and output.=
Section 2.1 Specific development goals states that:<=
/p>
Land value taxation and capture is the practice of creating local an=
d/or
state revenue by charging each title holder (or equivalent according to the
continuum of land rights) to land a portion (%) of the value of the site but
not for buildings. LVT/C can be used to produce revenue for public purposes=
and
for fostering more efficient use of land, including natural resources. Without la=
nd tax
there is vast amount of speculation in land which is pushing the price of l=
and
sky high and making it unaffordable for the poor in cities. This is especia=
lly
important for regions where political patronage is linked to land. After
describing the Access to Land section of the HABITAT II Action Agenda, which
recommends land based taxes and “the adoption of innovative instrumen=
ts
that capture gains in land value and recover public investments” this
section ends with: Sound LVT/C
policies create incentives for substantial improvement in the housing stock,
provides the basis for self-financing cities, enables the benefits of the
market system, and secures a fair distribution of wealth. <=
b>3.1 Specific project goals: The LVT/C capacity building program seeks to enable implementation of
the UN-HABITAT 1996 Action Agenda recommendations for land value capture and
land based tax policy. The training material will be available via Internet=
to
public officials, NGO and grassroots leaders, and others who are committed =
to
ensuring access to land for affordable shelter for all. The traini=
ng
will focus in particular on the capture of land value for public revenue an=
d the
land tools that are crucial to the successful implementation of this policy,
such as land assessments, cadastral systems, and land registration.
High-quality and affordable information reliable, timely, and
user-friendly will be presented to help prepare governments for
implementing these fiscal approaches, which, among other benefits, can crea=
te
incentives for improvement in the housing stock. Section 4 =
gives
examples of the overall GLTN activities&nb=
sp;
within which our project is embedded, such as Expert Group Meetings,
interactive conferences, knowledge management, implementation methodologies,
administrative and institutional upscaling, and harmonization of global
partners. <=
b>4.1 Specific project activities: The
following components will be applicable: 1.&n=
bsp;
a) =
Develop explanatory documents on LVC/T (global coverage) b) &nbs=
p; b) Specific SWOT on existing examples=
of
LVC/T (global as well as country specific) c) S=
tatements
by key individuals/institutions on LVC/T (global coverage) 3.&n=
bsp;
a) Develop a curriculum for and the design of a
short online course on LVC/T &n=
bsp;
(approximately 8h Internet time and 16h offline time) b) Develop an online LVC/T
calculator/simulator where a council/country can enter their own data and t=
hen
elaborate different LVC/T solutions seeing the results in the LVC/T calcula=
tor/simulator.
Calculator ought to be available on www.gltn.net. 4.&n=
bsp;
a)
Develop brief brochure on LVC/T. (Edit/design and production by exte=
rnal
partners, not in this contract). The above =
is to
be disseminated and available via the GLTN website at www.gltn.net. The
information to be captured and presented ought to give answer to the follow=
ing
questions: 1. Where has LVT been implemented so far
and what are the results? 2. How does a council with limited
resources assess land values? 3. How would LVT be implemented in a sm=
all
community with limited resources and what are the barriers? 4. How is it best managed to tax existi=
ng
landowners who have not been taxed in the past? 5. Given that land tax can be imposed on
poor, how is that best managed without causing market evictions? 6. 6.=
&nbs=
p;
What
is the way forward if there is no valuation profession in place in the coun=
try? The UN Habitat GLTN L=
and
Value Taxation/Capture Project will
be directed and coordinated by
Develop SW=
OT (Str=
engths,
Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) analysis=
on
LVC/T (financial/social/environmental with global coverage)