Currently, vacant lots and abandoned buildings pay low property taxes. Since the taxes are so low, property owners are able to pay them off easily and this in turn discourages residential development. There's no real incentive to build or to sell and often times, property owners sit on these vacant lots, hoping for the its property value to rise. The immense amount of empty lots and abandoned buildings can be used to house the thousands of homeless; however, low taxes allow these properties to continue being empty and not be used for any purposes. .
Additionally, since these vacant lots are not being used for any reason, they create dangerous and unsightly areas and neighborhoods. Because no one is looking over these properties, there is no security set up in place. Furthermore, it creates unsightly neighborhoods because there's no upkeep and maintenance on these lots and buildings. Not only do vacant property create unsightly neighborhoods, but unsafe ones as well. The Independent Budget Office proposed taxing vacant land at the same rate as commercial land, particularly those over 2,500 square feet. A higher tax rate would encourage owners to take care of and develop the land. A higher tax would become increasingly costly for property owners to pay and would turn to make use of the land. An investment in building and rebuilding these properties would deem more profitable in the long run rather than leaving them abandoned. Owners would develop the land by building new affordable housing, from which they would receive benefits from the government. For those owners who would not be able to afford the higher tax rate, it would encourage them to sell the land to new owners, who are willing and able to build. (DiBlasio 8-Point Plan).
To make higher taxation a successful solution, it must be efficient, meaning, "getting the most output for a given input." However, according to Deborah Stone, there is more to efficiency than the definition states.
