Land Baron Tax

Here's a suggestion that I think should be put into effect once we have resident-initiated land auctions: a tax on unsold land.

If you offer land for sale to the general public at a fixed price, then every day that that land goes unsold, you get dinged for a fixed percentage of that price. (I'd suggest 1% per day, but I'm not married to that amount.)

[Edit: that's 1% of the cost in Linden dollars, not US dollars.]

If you auction the land, or release it to the public, or mark it for sale to a specific individual, no taxes apply. If the taxes drain the user's account completely, the land automatically goes to auction. And if the user wants to sell, but has no money to pay the tax to begin with, auctions are available.

This should inspire a little discipline on the sell-side. No more 4x4 plots marked for L$100,000. Land speculators will have to weigh this factor into their pricing decisions: pricing land above what the market will bear, and waiting for a sucker to come along, would now have a big potential cost.

But for people who buy and sell land only infrequently, and don't try to squeeze out every last linden, the cost will be minimal -- zero, if the land sells within a day.

Comments?

Bad idea. Some people have good reasons they need to sell land, and land barony is not one of them.

You say the cost would be minimal. I say it wouldn't be. I am not a land baron and I've been trying to sell a piece of snow land I bought not too long ago. Things change in my life financially and I found myself getting a new job, and having to move soon. Until the move is complete and I'm actually IN the new job, I have no income at all.

So I'm stuck with $40 a month in land fees I cannot afford. And you want to nickel and dime me because my land won't sell?

No thank you.

I think I answered that concern in my post. You could offer it for auction with no tax cost. (Which is why I don't think this should be done until resident auctions are available.)

And I am talking about taxing it in Linden dollars, not US currency. Sorry if that wasn't clear.

So you're going to punish me (or whoever) for not being able to sell my land? Even in SL$ that's not something I want.

get enough SL$ and they make RL$, so no to this 'tax'

Once again: auctioning your land would be tax-free. Accept the price the market is willing to bear, and you can sell your land at no cost, and within a fixed amount of time. Or simply look at the land dialog to find out the going rate, and price it at or slightly below that amount.

The people who would get stuck with the tax bill here are the people who price their land higher than market value, in hopes of finding a sucker. Land priced to sell will sell. Land priced to gouge won't sell, at least not right away; and should be taxed, because that's something to be discouraged.

I DON'T want to auction my land. I want to be able to sell it at whatever value I decide.


I am being taxed by the Lindens already. I pay RL$ every month to keep this land.

"Bad idea. Some people have good reasons they need to sell land, and land barony is not one of them.

You say the cost would be minimal. I say it wouldn't be. I am not a land baron and I've been trying to sell a piece of snow land I bought not too long ago. Things change in my life financially and I found myself getting a new job, and having to move soon. Until the move is complete and I'm actually IN the new job, I have no income at all.

So I'm stuck with $40 a month in land fees I cannot afford. And you want to nickel and dime me because my land won't sell?"

Read that over and over and over a few times and then ask yourself why your not laughing.

Hmm.. I've read my own post a few more times as you suggested, and I still don't find anything to laugh about. I want to tier down to the basic account with NO fees, but I can't unload my land, so I'm stuck, forced to pay US$ fees I really can't afford.

You could just release your land. Or sell it at a lesser rate per m2.

Yes, someone will grab it but you will not have the huge monthly fee.

How much land is it, Aaron?

LOVE this idea.

If I get taxed for land sold, would it be on the sale price or the amount of land being transferred?

If it's for the sale price, what's to stop me from finding a buyer, saying, "okay, give me L$10,000 and I'll put it up for sale for L$1"?

If it's for the amount of land transferred, what does this do for people who look to trade land -- say I own some bits here and there in a sim, as does my neighbour, so we decide to trade parcels so our end amounts remain the same, but the overall lots are more contiguous. What happens then?

Or say I don't want to charge money for land. Maybe I'm generous. How do I give land to someone without having to charge them the transfer tax? (Say I'm generous but not THAT generous.)

Also, this encourages people to find ways to get more "creative" about how to let others know that they have land for sale, without officially putting it up for sale except at the very last minute.

"Creative" in quotes, because this will invariably involve larger, more colorful For Sale signs over people's parcels, with more eye-catching effects like rotations, particles, etc, in order to inform people that if you want to make a Virtually-Tax-Free purchase of the parcel, please IM so-and-so to iron out the details.

("so-and-so's For Sale sign whispers: This parcel is for SALE. GREAT view, prime location! Reasonable price, and if you contact so-and-so via IM, he/she will arrange to sell it to you for a very reasonable price! This land is not listed as a For Sale parcel, so YOU, yes YOU avatar, are one of the lucky ones to stumble upon this! IM for details today!"

I've come to the conclusiom that the words "Land Baron" are simply imsults thrown at people who own land by those who don't.

You know what, guys? It's part of the game! Buying, maintaining, and selling land is part of what makes SL what it is!! By removing the incentive and ability for people to have as much land as they want, you are removing part of the motivation and challenge of SecondLife.

Personally, I think the land system should stay the way it is. There are a few tweaks that could be instituted: user auctions and the like, but overall, don't we WANT a free market? This is supposed to be a cooperative anarchy, not a communist state! That's what Second Life IS!

Besides, as one user just pointed out: you pay taxes on that land. It's based on the peak land you own during the month... so even if you only own the land for one day, you pay taxes on it for the whole month.

I don't think Land Barony is really as big a problem as you think... and it doesn't need "fixing" to make it go away. After all, if you were playing the game as well as the "land barons", you could be a "land baron" yourself.

More land regulation and Presidential elections: both things we don't need in SL

(and no, I don't even own a plot yet. I'm looking forward to the challenge of being able to buy one)

Well you'r WRONG.

Oh my god, you're a land baron!

"Land Barons" are already taxed in the form of land tier fees.

Personally, I will generally oppose any solution to any problem in SL which imposes restrictions or penalties on other players. So many of the 'solutions' to various problems posted in the forums are really punishments or restrictions on how to play SL. Just think of some examples:

- don't allow people to sell property within x days of buying it
- don't allow people to bid on more than x auctions
- create a government so we can regulate what people do
- don't allow land to be sold for more than a certain amount

Exactly, Gunzour. This is why I'm so puzzled by other people's willingness to set up some kind of massive system of rules and limitations to what we can do with land, under the hope that it will punish the scapegoat of the week.

Whatever complex system of rules and checks you impose, there is no way that it will end at land speculators. It will adversely affect people who are doing what are impossible to deny are completely ordinary and legitimate activities.