Detroit Land Value Tax Proposal (2023–24)

Overview

Beginning in 2023, Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan championed a "Land Value Tax Plan" — a split-rate reform that would sharply raise the tax rate on land while cutting the rate on buildings (structures). It is the most prominent recent attempt to bring land value taxation to a major American city.

The Rationale

Detroit suffers from extensive vacant land, abandoned lots, and speculative holding — much of it owned by investors awaiting appreciation. The plan aimed to cut property taxes for most homeowners while raising the burden on owners of vacant lots, surface parking, and blighted land, directly targeting speculative vacancy. Proponents argued it would reward building and use while penalising idle land-banking.

Status

The plan never reached the ballot and its enabling legislation died in the Michigan House. The proposal required state authorisation to let Detroit split its tax rate. In September 2023 that authorisation was introduced as a five-bill package — House Bills 4966–4970 of 2023, the "Land Tax Equity Act" (lead sponsor Rep. Stephanie A. Young, tie-barred together). HB 4966 was reported from the House Tax Policy Committee, read a third time and amended on 11 October 2023 — and then "postponed for the day." It never received a final House floor vote. House Speaker Joe Tate tabled the package after failing to secure the votes, and the Legislature broke for the rest of 2023 without passing it.

The bills were never revived in 2024. They stayed in what Crain's called "legislative limbo," and the November 2024 referendum the plan was aimed at never happened. With the 2023–2024 legislative session closing without passage, the package expired unenacted.

By Duggan's own post-mortem (December 2024), bipartisan support collapsed once the bills were on the floor: he said Republicans turned against the plan once they realised it was Speaker Tate's priority, while some progressive Democrats withheld their votes to trade for other priorities. Duggan did not seek re-election as mayor; he announced in December 2024 that he would run for Michigan governor as an independent in 2026. Mary Sheffield won the November 2025 Detroit mayoral election (becoming the city's first female mayor) and took office in January 2026; during her campaign she favoured a downtown entertainment tax to fund homeowner relief rather than pursuing the LVT.

As of mid-2026 the plan is dormant. In November 2025 Duggan pledged to revive the land-value-tax effort if elected governor — so its future is tied to the outcome of the November 2026 governor's race, which is unresolved at the time of writing. Regardless of its fate, the episode put land value taxation onto the agenda of a major US city and the national press.

See Also

• Split-Rate Taxation · Speculative Vacancy · Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
• Gaffney: "What's the Matter with Michigan?" — a century-earlier Detroit land-tax history (Mayor Hazen Pingree's 1890s reforms through the city's later decline), the historical antecedent this modern proposal is not otherwise connected to on the wiki

Sources

1. City of Detroit, Office of the Chief Financial Officer, "The Land Value Tax Plan." detroitmi.gov plan page and full plan PDF (Aug 31 2023) — used for the proposal's two-part design (cut building millage by ~14 mills; more than double the millage on land) and its marketing (an average 17% homeowner property-tax cut, "blight is rewarded and building is punished"). Plan required enabling legislation in Lansing and was aimed at the November 2024 ballot with the cut taking effect in 2025.
2. City of Detroit, "Mayor Duggan Introduces Land Value Tax Plan to Cut Taxes for Homeowners, Hold Land Speculators Accountable." detroitmi.gov news release — used for the framing and the speculator example (one Detroit speculator holding 261 parcels of vacant land).
3. Michigan Legislature, House Bill 4966 of 2023 (the "Land Tax Equity Act," tie-barred with HB 4967–4970). legislature.mi.gov bill page — used for the legislative status/outcome: introduced 9/12/2023, referred to the Committee on Tax Policy, reported with substitute, read a third time and amended 10/11/2023, then "postponed for the day" — with no subsequent action, i.e. no final House floor vote before the 2023–2024 session ended.
4. Ken Coleman, "Legislature breaks for year without passing Detroit mayor's tax plan," Michigan Advance, 13 Nov 2023. michiganadvance.com — used for the Legislature adjourning for 2023 without passing the LVT package.
5. Malachi Barrett, "Setback for land value tax reflects distrust, confusion with Detroit plan," BridgeDetroit, 23 Oct 2023. bridgedetroit.com — used for Speaker Joe Tate tabling the legislation after failing to secure the votes amid Democratic concerns and internal disagreement.
6. David Eggert, "Duggan's land value tax proposal in limbo; November ballot prospects iffy," Crain's Detroit Business, 29 May 2024. crainsdetroit.com — used for the plan remaining in "legislative limbo nearly eight months after bills to authorize a vote stalled in the chamber," and the fading November 2024 ballot prospects.
7. Malachi Barrett, "Why Mike Duggan is running for Michigan governor as an independent," BridgeDetroit, 4 Dec 2024. bridgedetroit.com — used for Duggan's post-mortem on why the bills failed (Republicans opposing once it was Speaker Tate's priority; some far-left Democrats withholding votes to trade), his decision to run for governor as an independent in 2026, and that he did not seek re-election as mayor.
8. "Mary Sheffield wins Detroit mayoral election, AP projects, becoming city's 1st female mayor," WXYZ Detroit, 4 Nov 2025 — used for Sheffield's election as Duggan's successor; and Malachi Barrett, "Detroit mayoral candidate would push entertainment tax to offset property tax cut," BridgeDetroit, 11 Dec 2024 bridgedetroit.com — used for Sheffield favouring a downtown entertainment tax over the LVT.
9. "Duggan pledges to revive Detroit land-value tax effort if elected governor," Crain's Detroit Business, 25 Nov 2025. crainsdetroit.com — used for Duggan's pledge to revive the LVT effort contingent on winning the 2026 governor's race (the plan's status as of late 2025 / mid-2026).