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Byzantine Empire had LVT

Written on . Posted in History.

{jumi *6}{/jumi}Strategic analyst and historian Edward Luttwak discusses his important book on the history of the Byzantine Empire, the longest-lasting empire in human history. In passing, he mentions the role of its tax system in providing a stable source of revenue for public administration – and it turns out that the method used was classic LVT. The entire lecture is worth listening to...

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Plans for an income tax scrapped

Written on . Posted in Taxation.

Schemes for a national ‘income tax’ in the UK have been ruled out as impracticable. The aim had been to introduce a tax system intended to be based on people’s “ability to pay”. Officials say it would take further three years just to conduct a nationwide survey of wages and salaries. Inspectors at HM Revenue & Customs had logged details of the wages paid to 25 million...

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Mansion Tax could dash Great Expectations

Written on . Posted in Taxation.

We are no fans of the mansion tax, which is as bad an implementation of a property tax as it is possible to conceive. However faced with the prospect, one old friend of mine has decided to realise a long-standing ambition and convert part of his West Wing into additional stables. It will all be done very tastefully of course but the alterations will take the value of his pile just below the threshold....

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At last – Tax Justice Movement grasps the LVT point

Written on . Posted in Tax Justice Network.

At last, a piece from TJN in support of LVT with no ifs and buts. We hope now that TJN will stop talking about LVT as part of a balanced package of taxes. Of course LVT cannot replace all existing taxes at a stroke and it will need a bedding-in period of several years whilst all the harmful and avoidable taxes are phased out. And there will probably always be a place for “sin taxes”,...

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Call for manufacturing Tsar to boost UK economy

Written on . Posted in Taxation.

The FT reports that “A study of UK industry commissioned by David Cameron says Britain should appoint a “manufacturing tsar” to champion the sector and help deliver a prolonged economic revival. “A report compiled by Sir Anthony Bamford, chairman of JCB, the construction machine company, says Britain should implement a nine-point plan to strengthen the role of manufacturing...

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Are we really “Single Taxers”

Written on . Posted in Taxation.

All taxes must be evaluated according to their likely side effects. The well-known effect of the windows tax was bricked-up windows. But the reasoning behind this tax was the assumption that the number of windows in a property was an indication of the owner’s ability to pay.   Those of us who in favour of LVT would not seriously argue that the so-called “sin taxes” should be got...

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What the Chancellor ought to do

Written on . Posted in Taxation.

Anyone who knows anything about the Campaign will know what changes we would like to see made to the tax system. However, even if the government gave the go-ahead tomorrow, it would take at least three years to get LVT up and running. So what would we like to see the Chancellor do at the forthcoming budget? The LibDems are said to be pressing for a wealth tax, but they have no business to be arguing...

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Cast out of Eden

Written on . Posted in Religion.

Does the bible tell us that when Adam and Eve were cast out of the Garden of Eden, they went to their local Jobcentre and signed on to get their Jobseeker’s Allowance? Of course not, because they had free access to the surface of the earth and its natural resources. Nobody owned it. Job creationism is not consonant with scripture.

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Humbug

Written on . Posted in Tax Justice Network.

There is a big hoo-ha in the papers today about government departments using consultants “employed” by service companies so as to avoid tax liabilities. It apparently skirts close to the borderline between avoidance and evasion. Humbug. No-one who has ever paid their plumber, builder or car mechanic cash-in-hand has any right to complain. That must mean nearly all of us. The customer...

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