Adam Smith
The father of economics (1723–1790) argued in The Wealth of Nations that ground-rents are an especially suitable subject of taxation — a Georgist conclusion a century early.
Overview
Adam Smith (1723–1790), author of An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations (1776) and the founder of modern economics, anticipated key Georgist arguments more than a century before Henry George.
On Ground Rents
In Book V of The Wealth of Nations, Smith argued that ground-rents — the rent of land as distinct from buildings — are "a still more proper subject of taxation than the rent of houses," because a tax on ground-rents would not raise rents or discourage any productive activity: the landlord enjoys the rent "without any care or attention of his own." This is precisely the efficiency argument later formalised by Ricardo and made central by George.
Significance
Smith establishes that the case for taxing land is not a fringe idea but is rooted in the founding text of economics itself. Georgists frequently cite him to show that taxing land rent is orthodox classical economics, not heterodoxy.
See Also
Sources
- Adam Smith (1776), The Wealth of Nations, Book V, Ch. 2 (taxes on ground-rents). Full text