From New York to Austin, America’s biggest cities are littered with vacant plots of land because property tax bills can skyrocket once vacant lots are developed into homes and apartments.

WSJ explains the unseen role property taxes play in the country’s housing shortage and explores the merit of a landvalue tax.

Photo Illustration: Amber Bragdon

0:00 What’s wrong with the current U.S. propertytax system?
0:41 Why taxes go up when property improvements are made
2:22 Analyzing the scale of vacant land in Austin
3:52 The pros and cons of a landvalue tax

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