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The Impact of Urban Land Taxation: The Pittsburgh Experience

Wallace E. Oates; Robert M. Schwab · National Tax Journal 50(1), 1–21 · 1997

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Type: Article
Author: Wallace E. Oates; Robert M. Schwab
Accessed: 2026-09-01

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EstablishedPittsburgh operated a graded property tax that taxed land at twice the rate of buildings from 1913 until 2001; in 1979–80 the land rate was raised to more than five times the structure rate.DisputedWhether Pittsburgh's land-heavy tax caused its 1980s building boom is disputed: Oates and Schwab found a boom far above regional peers but judged a commercial-space shortage the primary driver, with land taxation a supporting factor.