... it could tax land (owners or renters)...
This ^
Except that land taxation always taxes owners not renters.
except where it doesn't, like in the uk. i wish more people here would learn more about the actual world before coming up with grand political or economic theories (or at least before trying to correct me).
There is no land value tax in the UK.
Besides, why would a land lord charge
less than he otherwise could? I'll answer that for you - he won't. Therefore,
tenants are already paying the maximum they can afford. That's why land value taxation hits the landlord instead.
Land rent is just privately collected tax. It's exploiting a coercive monopoly on a location.