Common objections - Land Value Tax Campaign

Pity the poor widow under LVT

Written on 9 November 2012. Posted in Ability to pay.

People express concern about the fate of poor widows under LVT but I am more concerned about the likes of Miss Havisham, who was unmarried but had lost her fortune through being defrauded by her husband-to-be. But there is this sad story too. A 96 year old widow is in the same two-up two-down with an outside toilet that she moved into in 1946 when she was 30 years old. She had married at the start...

A stupid exchange of views on “Georgism”

Written on 21 June 2012. Posted in Land is wealth.

I have been in correspondence on another blog with a cowardly commentator who insists on calling himself Anonymous. His postings are as fine a collection of misconceptions and false conclusions about LVT as I have come across for a long time. He quotes as an authority a Paul Birch, a member of the UKIP, who has written a “Critique of Georgism”. Birch has obviously not gone back to the...

I’ve bought that land with my money

Written on 15 June 2012. Posted in Land is wealth.

I’ve bought that land with my money. Why should I pay tax on it? The piece of land that someone buys would quickly lose its value if the state of civil order were to deteriorate, or people were to move away or if the community did not constantly sustain that value by ensuring that the physical and social infrastructure is kept in good order, all at the expense of the taxpayer. That is a valuable...

How LVT could be avoided – not

Written on 29 May 2012. Posted in Practicalities.

From a discussion group on the Guardian’s Comment is Free“A design office in the UK designs a widget. They have a three room office in Hull. It sells all over the world for £500 a go. It is made in China, where the vast factory is paid £10 per unit over costs. The UK company makes £300 profit per unit. Explain to me how land value tax works on this, given you want to get rid of corporation...

LVT would benefit wealthy landowners

Written on 15 May 2012. Posted in Ability to pay.

LVT would benefit wealthy landowners, according to Liberal Democrat Richard Dean, one of the commentators on a piece in Liberal Democrat Voice. Dean has acted as main protagonist for the “antis”, but his idea that LVT would help wealthy landowners suggests the workings of an original mind and comes as news to us. Can we expect a cheque in the post from Lord Marchmain at any moment? If...

LVT and bank lending

Written on 12 May 2012. Posted in Land is wealth.

“Land value, if we assume land values fall from this tax what will happen to the debt lent against the property?” The borrower will still have the revenue stream to pay off the debt, provided that the switch from present taxes to mostly-LVT is phased over a few years. ” ie when the landowner come to refinance he may find as the debt has previously been lent using the property...

LVT too much for farmers?

Written on 28 February 2012. Posted in Business and farming.

Why do opponents of LVT wheel out the argument that farmers could not afford to pay LVT? This is taken from the latest statistics from DEFRA. “General cropping and cereal farms had large increases in rent in 2010 and the prices now stand at £249 and £176 per hectare respectively. This may be due to the improvement in the profitability of arable farming.” The main findings were 2010...

How does one pay LVT with no income?

Written on 4 February 2012. Posted in Ability to pay.

This question arrived by email. “Every now and then I research this and still find no answer: How does somebody pay Land Value Tax if they have no income?”

Who can refute our arguments?

Written on 9 December 2011. Posted in Ability to pay.

No one ever tries to refute our arguments about a land tax. Not seriously. Some people just agree, either because they do, or they don’t want an argument. A few get bored when the subject is mentioned. Some don’t want to know or say they can’t get their heads round it. Some don’t like the idea as they think it would hurt them. The arguments are impossible to refute except...

LVT threat to heritage

Written on 26 November 2011. Posted in Ability to pay.

If you participate in discussion groups such as the Guardian’s Comment is Free you will come across endless opportunities to present the case for LVT and you will be confronted endlessly with arguments against it. You have to defend the proposal against predictions that old widows will be thrown heartlessly from their homes; that England’s green and pleasant land will become a sea of...

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