Current affairs - Land Value Tax Campaign

Practical Politics Articles

Written on 24 July 2020. Posted in Politics.

Practical Politics was a monthly magazine written by David Mills discussing topical issues relating to the economy. The last edition was published in April 2013. A comprehensive set of archive editions up to April 2013 is available to download in our downloads section. For further information please use the contact us form. Here follow a couple of excerpts from previous issues of Practical Poli...

Punishing the Republic of Ireland

Written on 4 February 2019. Posted in Economics.

Few, if any, commentators have remarked that with a so-called hard border, the main victims will be inside the Republic, since the EU’s rules will restrict the flow of goods INTO the Republic. If they have to come from Continental Europe, either they have to be driven across the congested roads of the Midlands and North Wales, or they will have to be shipped direct. The latter is going to...

Responsorium 14 January #2

Written on 14 January 2019. Posted in Taxation.

I see a grain of truth in there, but this does not make it a valid or complete argument. In general, from an efficiency point of view one should tax those goods/service that respond the least (this, however, often clashes with equity considerations). Land, in an geographic sense, does not adjust. Yes However, in practice, there also a lot of margins of “productive land” that are affected...

Responsorium 14 January #1

Written on 14 January 2019. Posted in Economics.

Our economy is these days simply has very little land as a necessary input. If land is not necessary these days, why are people willing to pay £100 per square foot rent for offices in London’s West End and £3 million an acre for industrial land in West London. Are they wasting their money? Do you know something the tenants and purchasers do not? http://www.colliers.com/en-gb/uk/insights/offices-rents-map So,...

Taxed to dereliction

Written on 12 January 2019. Posted in Taxation.

Most proponents of land value tax these days do not appear to understand the theoretical background to what they are advocating. This is usually revealed when they talk about a wealth tax on land, or propose that the tax should be levied as a percentage (usually between 1% and 5%, of the selling price). The primary value of land is its gross annual rental value. The point about gross value is that...

Saudi catches VAT meme

Written on 3 January 2018. Posted in Taxation.

Saudi Arabia is the latest country to catch the VAT meme. The country introduced it at a rate of 5% on 1st January. They ought to know better. Land value tax is a traditional form of Islamic tax. It is known as Kharaj, and though originally intended for agricultural land there is no reason why it should not be applied to urban land, worth many times more than agricultural land. The Saudis should...

A Georgist EU?

Written on 6 December 2017. Posted in Taxation.

What would a Georgist European Union look like? Member countries raise the bulk of their public revenue from an ad valorem tax on the rental value of land. Contributions to the EU central fund in proportion to each country’s aggregate land rental value. No tariffs charged on imports to or within the Single Market area. No restrictions on imports to the Single Market area, subject only to...

Irish border troubles

Written on 10 November 2017. Posted in Economics.

I came across this information in a discussion about what should be done about the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic. Ireland’s top exports (Source: International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook Database (GDP based on Purchasing Power Parity). Accessed on February 18, 2017) http://www.worldstopexports.com/irelands-top-10-exports/ Pharmaceuticals: US$31.8 billion (24.9%...

Paradise papers humbug

Written on 8 November 2017. Posted in Taxation.

Over the past few days, The Guardian has been running a series of outraged articles about the so-called “Paradise Papers”, which are revelations about tax avoidance by the great and the good. The outrage is humbug. It is significant that The Guardian has not opened any of its articles to comment. If no laws have been broken, than the outrage must be backed by calls for changes in the...

Bombardier v. Boeing – what wasn’t said

Written on 3 October 2017. Posted in Economics.

Comments about the Bombardier affair demonstrate the abyss of misunderstanding about the nature of trade and of the economic process itself. US aircraft manufacturer Boeing has initiated a court case against Bombardier, relating to the proposed sale of aircraft to the US company Delta Airlines. Claiming unfair competition, the threat is to impose a tariff of over 200%. This threatens the livelihood...

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