How Bezos Messed With Texas

theodp writes "The WSJ has the behind-the-spaceport story on Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos' Texas land grab for his Blue Origin space tourism venture. Bezos deputized an attorney (who once handled Amazon SEC filings) to make ranchers offers they couldn't refuse (and can't talk about), acquiring property through corporate entities with monikers including 'James Cook L.P.,' 'Jolliet Holdings,' 'Coronado Ventures,' and 'Cabot Enterprises' — all named for famous explorers and all using the same address, c/o [Star Trek-monikered] Zefram LLC. BTW, FAA temporary flight restrictions are in effect for Blue Origin until Monday ('DUE TO ROCKET LAUNCH ACTIVITY'). Let's hope it's more successful than Blue Origin's maiden flight."

Comments

Bezos's property rights

[Baldrson]

Bezos bought some land and used various aliases to do so. So what? Did he defraud anyone?

The real problem is more profound:

Government protects property rights, that would not exist in the absence of government, as its primary function. Productive people (measured by income, capital gains, value added, sales, etc) are tired of being taxed to subsidize said protection, as well they should be. The largest single property right so protected is centralized ownership of land.

Bezos could really stomp on all this belly-aching about his so-called "land grab" by simply getting the government of Texas to stop taxing things other than increases in land value that occur subsequent to the adoption of the new tax system. In other words, the assessment of state, county and local tax could be reduced to a very simple, easy to enforde, flat rate, single-tax:

LandValue = PropertyValue - InsurableValue
TaxableLandValue = LandValue@TaxTime - LandValue@TimeOfLastPurchasePriorToSystemConversio n - HomesteadExemption@TaxTime
HomesteadExemption = MedianPriceOfAHome + MedianCapitalizationForASubsistenceJob