economics
Why Economists Love Property Taxes and You Don't
Rising bills can force homeowners to make some unpleasant decisions.
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Out of reach in Silicon Valley.
Photographer: Michael Short/BloombergWhen the value of land rises, it's generally not because of something the landowner has done. The resulting rents and other monetary gains, Adam Smith wrote in 1776, "are a species of revenue which the owner, in many cases, enjoys without any care or attention of his own."
This made the landowner, Smith continued in "The Wealth of Nations," an excellent target for taxation:
