Current affairs - Land Value Tax Campaign

Tax avoidance – Labour wants your opinion

Written on 23 November 2012. Posted in Taxation.

The Labour Party has climbed onto the bandwagon of concern about tax avoidance by issuing what it calls a “Challenge Paper” which tells us that “Labour believes addressing tax avoidance at both an individual and corporate level must be a priority. At home, this means making it plain to the Crown Dependencies that we will expect them to observe the letter and the spirit of the law...

Euro not dead yet

Written on 22 November 2012. Posted in Economics.

Despite predictions of its imminent demise several months ago, the Euro struggles on. Some people are surprised, but those with an interest in its survival have successfully managed to keep kicking the can down the road. How much longer can it go on? Last week, statistics from Eurostat confirmed that the Eurozone remains in recession. The day before that, millions of people across Europe, but predominantly...

UK property tax pickle

Written on 20 November 2012. Posted in Taxation.

Between them, Chancellor George Osborne and Local Government minister Eric Pickles, have missed the opportunity to reform Britain’s property tax and made a mess of things instead. We reported previously that the government had decided to defer the UBR revaluation for two years, until 2017. The FT now reports that “Colliers International, the property agency – which has described...

Tax avoidance humbug

Written on 16 November 2012. Posted in Taxation.

More tax avoidance humbug from Polly Toynbee in the Guardian. The comments are generally not much better, falling into two categories. Those in the first express the faux-libertarian view that all taxation is theft. The alternative view is indignation, accompanied by a call for greater toughness. It seems not to be appreciated that if an action is immoral but legal, which by definition, is the case...

MPs grill tax avoidance rogues

Written on 13 November 2012. Posted in Taxation.

Representatives from the big trans-national tax avoiders – Google, Amazon and Starbucks, had a grilling by MPs yesterday. But the rogues missed a trick. These companies’ obligations to the British government begin and end with the value of the infrastructure that they enjoy in the UK. That’s it. This is fully reflected in the land value element of the rents they pay on the properties...

Land Value Tax Bill published

Written on 8 November 2012. Posted in Taxation.

The Bill sponsored by Green MP for Brighton Caroline Lucas has now been published. The citation is“A Bill to require the Secretary of State to commission a programme of research into the merits of replacing the Council Tax and Non-domestic rates in England with an annual levy on the unimproved value of all land, including transitional arrangements; to report to Parliament within 12 months...

Forward thinking students

Written on 24 October 2012. Posted in Taxation.

We were pleased to note the formation of a group called “Forward“, which describes itself as “a policy think tank created, developed and run by students from across the United Kingdom. It aims to facilitate policy discussions on current affairs within the areas of Development.” It is expressly supportive of land value taxation.

Starbucks again

Written on 18 October 2012. Posted in Taxation.

Starbucks’ supposed losses have made the FT this time, with a jokey article which nevertheless manages to miss the point. Good for Starbucks. The tax system is a bad joke. The more people who run rings round it, the more people will notice. One can only hope that eventually the penny will drop and real reforms will be put in place. The taxation of individuals and corporations is wrong in principle....

Murphy misses point yet again

Written on 16 October 2012. Posted in Taxation.

Anti-tax avoidance campaigner Richard Murphy has got the American coffee chain Starbucks in his sights this time. But as usual he does not tell the whole story and nor does he draw the obvious conclusions – shift taxes onto fixed property. Why can’t Murphy see this? Is he serious?

Strange times

Written on 16 October 2012. Posted in Taxation.

The times get stranger. I received an email yesterday from Vince Cable asking me to campaign for fairer taxes and to sign an on-line petition for his pet project, the Mansion Tax, now suggested for properties valued at £2 million or more. Cable claims it is impossible to avoid. I could think of a couple of ways off the top of my head. I am sure a lot of people could think of more if they put their...

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