Canadian Politics Today

Yes that is what I was talking about. The 'improvement value' on my property tax has been decreasing over time while the land price increases.

You mean assessments that, even after increasing from 2016 to 2017 (BC assessments are based in October) by 20% and then proven to still be off by over 10% are a reliable method to determine value?

I have often seen commercial buildings sell for much more than original costs years after being built. In fact, in some instances I actually know the exact original cost of the building because I was the accountant who was involved in the construction of the building. 

Sure some of that is the new owner wanting a larger amount to write off, but that often goes against the interests of the seller who does not want the recapture so it is not all explained by playing tax games.

But that’s the thing: there is experience and there is theoretical know how. 

Sometimes the theorists are surprised by what's going on in the real world.