20 
THE A B C OF TAXATION 
time; corresponding exemptions; the exemption of 
assessed value; and the single tax as an income tax. 
VIII.—The Taxation of Real Estate Only 
Every single taxer, no doubt, may be relied upon to 
vote for the concentration of ail taxes upon real estate 
(land and buildings), as a rapid transit measure toward 
his preferred exemption of buildings also. Such a 
course would secure a basis for honest assessment and 
collection, and would eliminate the possibility of 
evasion, but how much of an advance would this be 
toward a just equalisation of the burden? The land 
lord of a new building would still be paying, as he does 
now, the taxes of an adjoining landlord of old buildings 
or of none at all. He would be worse off by his dis 
proportionate share of taxes transferred from personal 
property. 
If Smith owns land and buildings in equal amount he 
will pay, for each $1,000 of land, taxes upon . . $2,000 
If Jones owns land with worthless buildings, or none 
at all, he will pay, for each $1,000 of land, taxes 
upon ........ 1,000 
If Brown owns his own house, worth three times as 
much as his land, he will pay, for each $1,000 of 
land, taxes upon ...... 4,000 
Under the theory that taxes are absorbed in main 
taining the value of the land, as indicated by the equal 
or even greater price that land often commands when 
practically unimproved rather than improved, it is 
held that the proportion of advantage afforded by the 
public outlay is fairly represented by the value of the 
land. If this theory is sound, then neither Smith, who 
pays twice as much as Jones, nor Brown, who pays 
four times as much, has any greater command per