A property tax that applies a higher rate to the value of land than to the value of buildings and other improvements, shifting the burden towards land.
In more detail
Also called a graded or two-rate tax, it is a partial step towards a land value tax. Pittsburgh used one from 1913 to 2001 and raised its land rate to more than five times the building rate in 1979–1980; several other Pennsylvania municipalities have used it. Studies suggest modest positive effects on construction and density, though effects are hard to separate from other local policies. Political resistance often comes from owners of large, little-developed plots.