CSE Submits LVT Study to Berlin, New Hampshire
The creator of UrbanTools, the Center for the Study of Economics drove through winter's frigid blanket of white to bring a new idea to a town that needs help.
Berlin on the Androscoggin
CSE VP and HGFA Trustee Albert Hartheimer made a presentation to City Council and the Mayor that was well-received particularly by the mayor. Berlin is a city that has struggled in recent years in transitioning from an industrial economy, losing paper and other mills. The biggest employers are not for profit and government jobs, which produce no wealth per se. The housing stock has contracted as populations have left, with a net loss of housing from 2000 to 2008, while the rest of the state has prospered. An interesting metric that the State Planning Department derived was the equalized real property valuation per capita. Berlin as of 2004 came in at Number 1, with the lowest valuation per capita. As tax base lags, tax burdens and budgets rise. That is unsustainable.
The AX system of land value taxation would provide immediate relief to the working people of Berlin and shift the burden of tax to vacant, underused or blighted land that has significant value. This is a story that will play out for some time, but the numbers indicate a very progressive policy outcome if adopted. LVT's message can only be moved forward by those willing to work hard and commit fully. We are grateful to have such people on board.
Traveling Man: CSE VP Hartheimer
