Another way to think about what makes land valuable is what economic activity it supports. To take a simple example, when is it better to buy a house in foreclosure the average home value in an area increases, the value of land increases too. For a commercial property like an office building, the land becomes more valuable when the landlord can charge tenants higher rent. 916document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ) With this premise in mind, land value tax suggests that municipalities only tax based on the value of the land rather than any improvements. This assertion radically alters the distribution of property taxes. Suddenly, an unimproved acre lot pays the same taxes as an adjacent acre lot with a high-rise on it. Land is defined as the earthaposs surface, both land and water, plus natural resources in their original state, such as: mineral deposit, wildlife, fish, timber, and water.