Patrick McKenzie (patio11) is joined by Lars Doucet and Greg Miller, co-founders who have just launched the Center for Land Economics, to discuss improving property taxation in the US. They explore how shifting taxes from buildings to land could transform development patterns, why California's property tax caps coincide with its housing crisis, and how the fundamental trade-off between assessment accuracy and consistency creates winners and losers. The conversation also covers the posting-to-policy pipeline, their work developing open-source tools to improve assessment equity, and techniques citizens can use to influence their local assessment office.
–

Full transcript available here:
www.complexsystemspodcast.com/tax-the-dirt-with-lars-doucet-greg-miller/

–
Sponsors: Safebase

Ready to save time and close deals faster? Inbound security reviews shouldn’t slow down your team or your sales cycle. Leading companies use SafeBase to eliminate up to 98% of inbound security questionnaires, automate workflows, and accelerate pipeline. Go to safebase.io/podcast
–

Recommended in this episode:

Center for Land Economics: https://landeconomics.org/
Game of Rent by Lars Doucet: https://gameofrent.com/
Progress & Poverty: https://progressandpoverty.substack.com/
Mass Appraisal for the Masses: https://progressandpoverty.substack.com/p/mass-appraisal-for-the-masses-the
Lars Doucet on Complex Systems: https://www.complexsystemspodcast.com/episodes/property-assessment-lars-doucet/
Dave Kasten on Complex Systems: https://www.complexsystemspodcast.com/episodes/tech-government-dave-kasten/

–

Twitter:
@patio11
@larsiusprime
–

TIMESTAMPS:
(00:00) Intro

(00:45) Center for land economics

(04:01) Property tax basics

(05:31) Challenges in property valuation

(10:22) Impact of Proposition 13 in California

(12:28) Anti-market property tax policies

(14:43) Housing crisis and land value
(15:46) Sponsors: Safebase

(17:17) Housing crisis and land value (Part 2)

(27:49) Urban development incentives

(29:17) Tokyo's urban planning success

(39:23) The abundance movement in housing

(40:07) Innovative housing policies

(41:24) Government bureaucracy and policy making

(49:56) Mass appraisals and property tax fairness

(01:00:02) Technological advances in property assessment

(01:06:16) Empowering local governments and citizens

(01:16:02) Wrap

Tax the dirt, with Lars Doucet & Greg Miller

Complex Systems with Patrick McKenzie (patio11)