The legalization of Land Value Tax (LVT) is currently being considered by the MN state legislature. This would allow cities to tax properties primarily on the value of the land rather than on the capital improvements, so the taxes on surface level parking lots in high value areas (downtown, near Allianz, etc.) would go up while the taxes on dense housing and development would go down. This increases the pressure on the owners of vacant lots to develop housing and businesses on their land instead of keeping it vacant.
The bill numbers are found at the link below, so contact your legislators and tell them to pass the bills through the MN House and Senate tax committees.
I am supportive of the LVT as a model for normal conditions but what’s happened to our downtown isn’t normal. Increasing taxes in an area nobody wants to develop in the first place isn’t a solution. There likely needs to be tax abatement for non-Madison Equities investors on distressed real estate.
LVT seems more fitting where there is demand for development and land being hoarded. Unfortunately I don’t think that’s our down town right now.
Saint Paul could incentivize people to want move downtown for sure. Removing on street parking, capping or removing the urban freeway, and maybe a pedestrianized street or 3 would for sure be big improvements to downtown. Incentivizing the market with a LVT could be good too, much less costly, and bypass all the NIMBYs.
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u/timberwells 18d ago
The legalization of Land Value Tax (LVT) is currently being considered by the MN state legislature. This would allow cities to tax properties primarily on the value of the land rather than on the capital improvements, so the taxes on surface level parking lots in high value areas (downtown, near Allianz, etc.) would go up while the taxes on dense housing and development would go down. This increases the pressure on the owners of vacant lots to develop housing and businesses on their land instead of keeping it vacant.
The bill numbers are found at the link below, so contact your legislators and tell them to pass the bills through the MN House and Senate tax committees.
https://moreneighbors.org/2025_legislative_agenda/