Should property taxes be abolished?

[Mint]

No but ideally they'd be changed so that the land itself is taxed as opposed to any improvements you make or anything productive like that.

[Mint]

No but ideally they'd be changed so that the land itself is taxed as opposed to any improvements you make or anything productive like that.

^^^^^^
Pretty much this.

Ideally I would like to see all taxation replaced by a land values tax instead of such crazy ideas like the Flat Tax or "Fairtax".

How would that ever work in practice? How can you value land independently of what is done with it? Remember, in Europe, pretty much the entire landscape is man-made, through irrigation and such.

It's not that hard to do. For example, Pittsburgh and Harrisburg instituted 2 separate property taxes (building value & land) to increase productivity/clear vacant space:

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1316/is_n10_v29/ai_19898072/pg_3/?tag=content%3Bcol1

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_R._Reed#As_Mayor

Basically they calculate it based on variables like existing rental and sales in the area.