Reply to The Guardian article. Is DC immune to this London market phenomenon?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Many cities have "homestead" exemptions, which are property tax cuts for people who actually live in their homes.

All it takes is for a politician to say that we should "cut property taxes" for residents. Everyone will vote for it since the absentee landlords live in Russia and the Middle-East. Then raise property taxes on everyone else. If the absentee landlords are happy paying extra property taxes, then fine. At least they are contributing extra to the city's budget.[/quote]
The problem is that the "homestead exemptions" are also a means for landlords to pay more taxes. Typically people who own rental houses/property are more affluent and politically connected. So I doubt it would be able to pass. If you tried to only make the tax apply to "vacant"properties, then there is the question of what makes a property "vacant" and how do you prove it?

My understanding is that in Vancouver they passed a tax on foreign buyers. I am not sure that such a tax would be legal in the U.S., particularly considering that the U.S. has Bilateral Investment Treaties with most countries that typically prohibit this type of targeted taxation of foreign investment. It could also potentially violate the equal protection provisions of the 14th Amendment.[/quote]

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