Current affairs - Land Value Tax Campaign

Land value taxation is a non-starter – Richard Murphy

Written on 8 August 2023. Posted in Taxation.

Land value taxation is a non-starter when it comes to serious tax reform “My problem with LVT is that it is based on a mythical value that will never be explicitly recognised in an economic exchange i.e., in a sale value.” LVT, properly implemented, is based on RENTAL VALUES. These are easy to extract from actual rentals. There is a “floor” to rentals in the poorer areas of the country eg...

Unrest in France

Written on 10 July 2023. Posted in Current affairs.

Attention on the riots in France has focussed on the cultural issues relating to the integration of migrants, something which is affecting most of the countries of Western Europe. Migration from all over the world is one of the legacies of far-flung empires, but it is undeniable that migrants belonging to one particular group have particular difficulties. There is, however, an important economic...

Industrial unrest continues: prices keep rising

Written on 7 December 2022. Posted in Politics.

Industrial unrest continues. The railways have been disrupted for the best part of half a year. There is trouble in the NHS. I wonder how much of this is related to the fact that an increasing proportion of the work force is now close to, or already in, the higher rate income tax band? This applies particularly to the railways. At these pay levels, not much of any pay increase increase is reflected...

November budget 2022: Chancellor has got it precisely wrong

Written on 18 November 2022. Posted in Taxation.

NOTE: this article expresses the opinions of the author, Henry Law. They are not those of the Land Value Taxation Campaign. There is almost nothing to be said in favour of Hunt’s budget. There is no principle behind preserving the pensioners’ so-called triple lock; it is of course meant to secure the loyalty of a group of people who can be relied on to turn out to vote. Windfall taxes, however well...

Employers’ Burden 2022

Written on 17 November 2022. Posted in Taxation.

Our tax system is so misguided that it doubles the cost of employment and government spending, as the bar chart shows. The topmost bar is for those with a nominal salary of £10,000 per year; the division is into percentages. For each line of gross salary the length of the line is the total cost to the employer, including employers’ National Insurance contributions. The blue portion of each line...

The dead loss of VAT – September 2022

Written on 30 September 2022. Posted in Taxation.

It would be difficult to conceive of any tax more damaging than VAT. It applies precisely at the point where supply meets demand, which makes it as bad as a tax can get. One of the remarkable things about VAT is that it violates all four of the Canons of Taxation, as formulated by Adam Smith. That is a considerable achievement. One of the opportunities that was offered by Brexit was that it gave...

The Need for Radical Tax Reform – article by Duncan Pickard

Written on 16 August 2022. Posted in Taxation.

This brief article neatly summarises the case for Land Value Taxation. It was prepared for Reform Scotland by Duncan Pickard The governments of most countries have budget deficits and increasing national debts. The taxes they currently collect are unable to meet the costs of health and welfare provision of their older people and for the care and education of their young ones. The majority of tax...

Freeports announced

Written on 3 November 2021. Posted in Economics.

The government has just announced the first eight of the so-called freeports. These will be East Midlands Airport, Felixstowe and Harwich, Humber and Immingham, Liverpool, Plymouth, Solent (Southampton and Portsmouth), Lower Thames including Tilbury, Teesside. The announcement states that “Eligible businesses will have access to a suite of tax reliefs including Business Rates, Stamp Duty Land...

“Will house prices drop in 2022 after stamp duty holiday ends this year?”

Written on 4 July 2021. Posted in Economics.

… asks The Sun. Figures released by Nationwide yesterday show the relief is partly to blame for a surge in house prices at the fastest pace since 2004. Annual house price growth jumped to 13.4% [£29,000] in June – the strongest growth since November 2004. Tax on the first £500,000 of a home purchase has temporarily been scrapped until the end of today (June 30). The relief means Brits...

Apologists for land bankers at work.

Written on 13 June 2021. Posted in Economics.

More nonsense from Centre for Cities, the opening sentence contradicts the headline just to warn you that you are about to ride the rollercoaster of flawed logic: No, landbanking does not cause the housing crisis – here’s why Landbanking is caused by the current discretionary planning system. A new flexible zoning system will end landbanking and the housing crisis. So, er, landbanking does not...

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