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Ken Yang & Stefan — Land Value Taxation Research Discussion

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Ken Yang & Stefan — Land Value Taxation Research Discussion

Date: 2026-06-17
Participants: Ken Yang, Stefan (PhD researcher, Henry George Foundation UK)
Source: UBI Works Personal Meeting Room (Zoom AI summary) [Source: zoom@ubiworks.ca, gmail_id 19ed5e842d8b038c, 2026-06-17]

Quick Summary

Stefan and Ken had a comprehensive discussion about land value taxation (LVT) and related research. Ken outlined UBI Works’ two research pillars; Stefan shared his PhD research on land rents in London and Germany. Discussed political challenges of LVT, entry points for implementation, and housing affordability dynamics. [Source: Zoom summary, gmail_id 19ed5e842d8b038c, 2026-06-17]

UBI Works LVT Research Pillars

Ken described UBI Works’ research as having evolved into two main pillars: [Source: Zoom summary, 2026-06-17]

  1. Land value return mechanisms — including land value taxes, tax shifts, capture (transit-based + zoning decisions), and cash rebates
  2. Sovereign wealth funds — as models for capturing and returning land economic rent to the public (related article regularly updated, now includes Canada Strong Fund)

Key context: BC and Alberta are the only Canadian provinces that regularly assess land values separately from structures — making BC an important case study. Historical support for LVT existed across Western Canada’s cities in the early 20th century before transitioning to modern property tax systems. [Source: Zoom summary, 2026-06-17]

Stefan’s PhD Research

Stefan is completing a PhD examining land rents in London, England and Germany to determine if they align with meeting housing needs. Key findings: [Source: Zoom summary, 2026-06-17]

  • While many land rents function properly in housing systems, private landlord extraction of land rents represents the most significant problematic case — rent going to private pockets rather than supporting housing affordability
  • Accumulated housing wealth was less prevalent than expected in his analysis
  • His research is under embargo until next spring and is not to be circulated publicly until then

Stefan is also working on three housing system research areas: [Source: Zoom summary, 2026-06-17]

  1. Housing system modelling — how land value allocation affects supply and demand
  2. Spatial modelling of land value in relation to amenities (challenge: older households underoccupy due to limited suitable housing options)
  3. Classic land rent topics

Stefan has a new project with the Henry George Foundation in England examining land rents as “hidden taxes” and how households are effectively taxed twice. Plans to demonstrate specific effective tax rates in the UK context, showing how land rent extraction affects different groups of taxpayers. Goal: connect economic concepts to specific social problems and make the case that double taxation is economically harmful. [Source: Zoom summary, 2026-06-17]

Sovereign Wealth Fund Discussion

  • Ken and Stefan debated including land in a sovereign wealth fund model [Source: Zoom summary, 2026-06-17]
  • Ken acknowledged land rents represent the largest share of economic rents but sees arguments for and against inclusion
  • Stefan: including land may be challenging due to private ownership issues [Source: Zoom summary, 2026-06-17]

Political Challenges of LVT

  • Moral impasse: those who believe land rents should remain private vs. those who argue they should be socialized [Source: Zoom summary, 2026-06-17]
  • High home prices in developed countries may serve as a source of national pride — complicating political framing [Source: Zoom summary, 2026-06-17]
  • 40% of Canadians want home prices to remain the same or drop — yet political framing remains difficult [Source: Zoom summary, 2026-06-17]
  • Alternative approaches explored: transit-based capture, public land trusts, community land trusts, public land ownership models (Scandinavian/Asian approaches) [Source: Zoom summary, 2026-06-17]
  • Direct taxation of private residential land faces significant resistance [Source: Zoom summary, 2026-06-17]

Action Items

Ken:

  • Review Stefan’s PhD thesis (and/or relevant papers); provide thoughts particularly on sections about land value return, housing modelling, and land rent distribution [Source: Zoom summary, 2026-06-17]

Stefan:

  • Send Ken a copy of the PhD thesis (with relevant sections highlighted), with understanding it is not for public circulation until embargo is lifted [Source: Zoom summary, 2026-06-17]

Joint:

  • Consider follow-up discussion to explore application of land value return concepts, public land development models (Scandinavian/Asian approaches), and potential studies relevant to the Vancouver context [Source: Zoom summary, 2026-06-17]

See Also

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