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Five years after writing about Henry George’s ideas, Lars Doucet says land value tax has moved from online debate toward legislative action. Virginia and Kentucky passed laws allowing local governments to adopt split-rate property taxes, while proposals and political interest are developing elsewhere. The long-term effects of these policies, and whether they will lead to broad adoption, remain uncertain.
Land value tax has gained new legislative and political attention since Lars Doucet wrote about Georgism in 2021, with Virginia and Kentucky passing laws that let local governments adopt split-rate property taxes. In a new five-year reassessment, Doucet argues that practical work to enable these policies has helped move the idea beyond online debate, though the effects of the new laws and the scale of future adoption are not yet clear.
Doucet’s original work began with a 2021 review of Henry George’s 19th-century book Progress and Poverty, which won the first ACX book review contest. Reader questions led him to write a three-part follow-up series, “Does Georgism Work?” He later collected those articles in the book Land is a Big Deal. His new article revisits the arguments and developments since that series.
George argued that economic progress can coincide with poverty because rising demand for desirable locations allows landowners to collect more rent. As rents increase, households and businesses face higher costs. George proposed taxing the rental value of land while exempting buildings and other improvements. In a common modern version, this resembles a property tax that places a higher rate on land and a lower rate on buildings.
Doucet says Virginia and Kentucky passed land value tax enablement laws in April 2026. The laws allow municipalities to opt into split-rate property taxes; they do not require cities to adopt them. He also points to a prospective bill in Washington state, where his organization, the Center for Land Economics, is working with the Sightline Institute. In New York, he says, Governor Kathy Hochul extended cities’ authority to use land value capture to fund transit stops.
Policy Reassessment · 2026
Does Georgism Work? Five Years Later
Five years after his 2021 ACX book-review-contest winner on Henry George’s Progress and Poverty, Lars Doucet reports that land value tax has moved from online debate toward legislative action — with Virginia and Kentucky passing enablement laws, and proposals developing elsewhere.
The boring scut work is actually what precedes, and even leads to, changing the consensus.
— Lars Doucet, on his earlier view of advocacyGeorge’s Case for Taxing Land
Economic growth raises the value of access to jobs, services, and location advantages. Landowners collect that value as rent — even though they did not create the surrounding community. A land value tax targets that rent.
Progress Can Coexist with Poverty
Rising demand for desirable locations lets landowners collect more rent. As rents increase, households and businesses face higher costs — and those with less ability to pay are squeezed hardest.
Tax Land, Not Improvements
George proposed capturing the annual rental value of land while exempting buildings. Doucet distinguishes this from George’s more sweeping “single tax,” which would replace all other taxes entirely.
From Online Debate to Legislative Action
Doucet’s own theory of change shifted: he once believed advocates must first shift opinion, then implement. He now argues administrative and legislative groundwork comes first — and helps move consensus.
Book Review, 2021
Review of Progress and Poverty wins the first ACX book review contest.
“Does Georgism Work?” Series
Reader questions drive a three-part follow-up, later collected as Land is a Big Deal.
Practical Groundwork
Center for Land Economics works on drafting bills, rate design, and implementation details.
Enabling Laws, 2026
Virginia and Kentucky let municipalities opt into split-rate property taxes — an option, not a mandate.
Local Votes
Whether cities adopt, and how they design rates, is the next test of the idea.
Where the Policy Is Moving
Beyond the two U.S. state laws, Doucet cites a German state tax that survived a court challenge, plus political support in the UK and South Korea — while cautioning that ambition levels remain uncertain.
| Jurisdiction | Status | What’s Happening |
|---|---|---|
| Virginia | ✓ Law passed | April 2026 enablement law allows municipalities to opt into split-rate property taxation. |
| Kentucky | ✓ Law passed | Same-month enablement law; adoption is optional, with no municipalities named yet. |
| Washington State | ~ Bill upcoming | Center for Land Economics works with Sightline Institute on a prospective LVT bill. |
| New York | ~ In development | Gov. Hochul extended cities’ authority to use land value capture to fund transit stops. |
| Baden-Württemberg, Germany | △ Low rate | Land value tax introduced January 2025; survived a court challenge, but the rate is low. |
| United Kingdom & South Korea | △ To be seen | Andy Burnham becomes UK prime minister; Lee Jae Myung elected in South Korea — both associated with LVT, ambition unclear. |
Adoption and Effects Remain Open
The enabling laws authorize an option — they do not establish adoption, rate design, or results. The article describes a policy opening, not a demonstrated outcome.
No outcome data yet: no forecasts or measured results for tax bills, rents, construction, housing supply, or municipal revenue from Virginia or Kentucky. An argument that AI could raise demand for valuable urban land is presented by commentators — as a possibility, not a forecast.
Local Votes Will Test the Idea
Whether Georgist ideas can change taxation and housing costs remains unresolved. The near-term signals to watch:
Opt-In Decisions
Which municipalities in Virginia and Kentucky adopt split-rate taxation, and how they design rates — the first real policy experiments under the new laws.
Pending Proposals
Introduction and progress of the Washington state LVT bill and New York’s transit land value capture work, possibly tied to the Inter-Borough Expressway expansion.
Evidence Elsewhere
Results from places that have implemented land value taxes will matter more to assessing the policy than growing attention alone.
“The Rent is Too Damn High, and it’s all because of land.“— Lars Doucet, summarizing Henry George’s argument
From Tax Debate to Local Policy
The new laws change the immediate policy question from whether local governments may try split-rate taxation to whether they will choose to do so and how it will work in practice. Under these systems, a municipality can shift more of its property tax burden toward land value and away from buildings. The structure reflects a central Georgist argument: taxing land, which cannot be moved or produced by its owner, may affect decisions differently from taxing construction or other investment.
That distinction matters to homeowners, renters, developers and local budgets, but the source does not provide outcome data from Virginia or Kentucky. The laws authorize an option; they do not establish that cities will adopt it, how they will set rates, or what effects it will have on housing costs, construction or public revenue. Doucet’s account therefore describes a policy opening and a rise in advocacy, not a demonstrated result.
The article also marks a change in Doucet’s own view of how reform advances. He says he once thought advocates first needed to change popular and elite opinion, then turn to implementation. He now believes the administrative and legislative work can come first and help shift consensus. That is his assessment of the advocacy process, rather than a measured finding about the effects of land value taxation.
George’s Case for Taxing Land
Henry George developed his argument in the 19th century. In Doucet’s summary, economic growth increases the value of access to jobs, services and other location-based advantages. Landowners can collect that value as rent, even though they did not create the surrounding community or the site’s location. People and businesses with less ability to pay may then face higher housing and operating costs.
George’s proposed land value tax would capture the annual rental value of land, excluding buildings and improvements. Doucet distinguishes that policy from George’s more sweeping “single tax” proposal, under which land would be taxed at its full rental value and the proceeds would replace other taxes. He says economists across political perspectives often view land taxation favorably in principle, while debate continues about practical and political obstacles. The source offers no survey or other evidence quantifying that level of agreement.
Since the 2021 series, Doucet says, land value tax has attracted more attention from lawmakers and advocates. Beyond the U.S. proposals, he cites a land value tax introduced in the German state of Baden-Württemberg in January 2025 that survived a later court challenge. He also points to political support in the United Kingdom and South Korea, while cautioning that the German rate is low and the ambitions of the other governments remain uncertain.
“The boring scut work is actually what precedes, and even leads to, changing the consensus.”
— Lars Doucet, reflecting on his earlier view of advocacy
Adoption and Effects Remain Open
The laws in Virginia and Kentucky enable local adoption, but the source does not identify which municipalities will use the authority or when they might do so. It also gives no forecasts or measured results for tax bills, rents, construction, housing supply or municipal revenue. Those outcomes will depend on local decisions and implementation details that are not specified in Doucet’s account.
Several developments elsewhere are at an earlier stage. The Washington state bill is described as upcoming, and the New York transit proposal is still being developed with partner organizations. Doucet does not provide bill text, a legislative timetable or details on how any resulting tax or land value capture system would be structured.
Doucet reports that Andy Burnham has become prime minister of the United Kingdom and that Lee Jae Myung was elected president of South Korea, presenting both as leaders associated with land value tax. He says their administrations’ level of ambition remains to be seen. The article also raises the possibility that artificial intelligence could increase demand for valuable urban land, but that is presented as an argument by commentators, not an established forecast or a reported effect of AI.
Local Votes Will Test the Idea
The next test in Virginia and Kentucky is whether municipalities opt into split-rate taxation and how they design their systems. Local adoption and implementation will show whether the enabling laws lead to active policy experiments. The source does not name a first adopting city or give a timetable for local decisions.
In Washington state, Doucet says the Center for Land Economics and Sightline Institute are preparing an LVT bill. In New York, his organization and several policy groups are working on a proposal related to land value capture for transit, including a possible connection to the Inter-Borough Expressway expansion. The proposals’ final terms and legislative prospects are not specified.
Doucet’s five-year review leaves the broader question—whether Georgist ideas can change taxation and housing costs—unresolved. The near-term developments to watch are local choices under the new state laws, the introduction and progress of pending proposals, and evidence from places that have implemented land value taxes. Those results will matter more to assessing the policy’s effects than the growing attention alone.
Key Questions
What is a land value tax?
A land value tax taxes the value of land without including the value of buildings or other improvements. A split-rate property tax applies a higher rate to land and a lower rate to buildings.
What did Virginia and Kentucky pass?
According to Doucet, both states passed laws in April 2026 allowing municipalities to opt into split-rate property taxes. The laws permit local adoption; they do not require it.
Does the article show that land value tax works?
No. Doucet describes new legal authority, policy proposals and rising interest. His account does not provide outcome data showing how the laws affect housing costs, construction, tax bills or public revenue.
What is Georgism’s single tax?
Henry George proposed taxing land at its full annual rental value and using that tax as the only tax. Doucet distinguishes this proposal from land value tax more broadly, which can be adopted alongside other taxes.
Source: Hacker News
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