How are property rights set up in Hawaii? If a lava flow suddenly creates 10 acres of new land who gets it?
The government does not claim ownership of all land covered by lava; the private property owner retains title even as the land’s assessed value plummets to zero.
As for that new oceanfront land? The state claims new coastal land created by volcanic eruptions. This ownership applies to lava flows extending seaward from the coastline — increasing the size of Hawaii island — not to those that cover the existing property.
There may be cases where the government eventually assumes control of private land inundated by lava, but it is not common practice. “If the property is abandoned, then eventually it could be sold at tax sale. However, we have not had a tax sale recently in this area as the values have been less than what was owed on taxes. The county and state have not been automatically assuming ownership,” Miura said in an interview with the Honolulu Star-Advertiser.
The government does not claim ownership of all land covered by lava; the private property owner retains title even as the land’s assessed value plummets to zero.
According to the county, Hawaii County does reduce or eliminate real property taxes for property owners within a lava inundation zone, and is doing so for those devastated by Kilauea’s current eruption, which has destroyed more than 500 homes in Lower Puna, Kapoho and Vacationland at this point, and made many more inaccessible.
How much is the assessed land value for fresh lava? The assessed value of the property would fall to zero for 2018, and the owner would pay no property tax, according to Miura. Any property assessed at $500 or less is exempt from property taxes, under a Hawaii County law approved last year. Presumably, such properties would continue to be assessed at $500 or less for years to come. And then, like some homeowners in Kalapana, rebuilding could begin for those residents willing to take the risk again.
I was told by my accountant friends that land couldn't be depreciated.
You need a deeper purpose our you would not be there.
Like doing it just for fun or something. :-)
Brains as we know it die, cannot replicate, and take years or decades to train. Hard drives can be duplicated and loaded into memory with no limit.
Biology and biological intelligence is a bootstrapping mechanism - a "hard step" [1] or two - leading up to the next stage in the evolution and proliferation of intelligence.
All of our science fiction centers on humans, because we write stories about ourselves and what we're familiar with. But that's just fantasy. The future probably looks nothing like what we portray in our films and books.
[1] https://grabbyaliens.com/paper describes hard steps well and also covers other interesting implications
There are over a hundred, ranging from tiny to a few thousand acres.
If history is any judge it becomes a bickering contest.