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Why does there need to be a multiplier?

In order to tax your property, the first thing a taxing authority would have to do is determine what the value of the land is. Most case studies and real-life applications of the Land Value Tax have used multipliers between 4 and 6 times the value of the current improvements on the property.

For example, a $100,000 assessed piece of property would  then have its land value reassessed at anywhere between $400,000 and $600,000. City taxes would then be paid on that reassessed land value. School taxes and county taxes would continue to be based on the traditional method of taxation (property taxes). 

Examples

500 Third Street, the former Joe Anderson property where the slide was, is currently assessed at $291,000. However, under a land value tax it would pay city taxes based on an assessed value of anywhere between $1,164,000 and $1,746,000.

The Nabisco property, currently assessed at $1,000,000, would have a land value of anywhere between $4,000,000 and $6,000,000. This would mean city taxes would be paid on the land value assessed value.

A house on Griffon Avenue on Cayuga Island with a current assessed value of $250,000 would have a land value of anywhere between $1,000,000 and $1,500,000.

A house in LaSalle with a current assessed value of $75,500 would have a land value of anywhere between $302,000 and $453,000.

A house in Deveaux with a current assessed value of $147,400 would have a land value of anywhere between $589,600 and $884,400.

Although it is impossible to say with precision what the City of Niagara Falls would choose as its multiplier, we can figure out an estimate based on all prior case studies and real-life applications of the land value tax that have used multipliers of 4 to 6.

What would your house be reassessed at under a Land Value Tax system?

Multiple your home’s current assessed value by 4. Then multiply your property’s current assessed value by 6. Your land value will be somewhere in the middle.