FAQs and objections - Land Value Tax Campaign

The arguments we have to answer

Written on 26 September 2009. Posted in Land is wealth.

That’s my home. Get your dirty tax hands off it Homeowners instinctively hate a mansion tax. They feel their hard-earned bricks and mortar should be beyond the State. So wrote Matthew Parris in today’s Times. The article is worth reading and so are the dozens of comments that follow,

What would be the impact of LVT on pensioners?

Written on 21 September 2009. Posted in Ability to pay.

The Campaign needs to give further attention to the criticism that the introduction of LVT would force elderly people on small fixed incomes out of their homes. This comment we have received describes a not unusual situation…

LVT would drive business out of the country

Written on 20 September 2009. Posted in Business and farming.

We have received the following comments which suggest that the Campaign is not succeeding in putting over its message as clearly as it needs to…

Land doesn’t matter in an advanced economy

Written on 7 September 2009. Posted in Land is not important.

A response on Richard Murphy’s Tax Research web site…

LVT best for hard-working families

Written on 16 August 2009. Posted in Land is wealth.

The Sunday Express last week came out with an article condemning what was referred to as a “land levy”. ‘A PLAN to scrap council tax in favour of a land levy was condemned last night as penalising hard-working middle-class families. The Land Value Tax was proposed by Compass, a Left-wing think tank close to Gordon Brown’s inner circle. It would raise even more than the £25.6billion...

Is LVT a threat to the landscape?

Written on 3 April 2009. Posted in Planning and construction.

“Without special exemptions, land value taxation policy would cause loss of habitats such as ancient woodland heath etc in private ownership but not designated as sites of special scientific interest (SSSIs). It could also impair the protection of historic landscapes.”

Our pet theory is barking mad and will destroy employment

Written on 18 March 2009. Posted in Business and farming.

A few days ago I received an email, titled “Authoring”, from someone who had visited our site. It said, “Don’t bother to reply unless you really are interested in a literate piece from a former partner at PriceWaterhouseCoopers explaining why your pet theory is completely and utterly barking mad and will destroy employment.” We like a challenge. I replied that…

Land doesn’t matter any more – again

Written on 15 February 2009. Posted in Land is not important.

It is interesting how the arguments against LVT so often have to postulate impossible situations. Here is an example from the Guardian’s Comment is Free discussion group, as part of its present campaign against tax avoidance. The point put in favour of LVT was… “If taxation is tied to the holding of land titles, then it can not be avoided. Everyone uses land. Nor can land be hidden...

LVT would put up the price of food

Written on 7 February 2009. Posted in Business and farming.

“A land tax as you propose would simply increase the cost of land and all it provides including food.” Land value is the residual value after all other costs have been met. That is standard economic theory and readily observable – there are numerous test situations which have shown this eg shops do not charge more for their goods if they are paying high rents. The person who...

“People and organisations that don’t ‘own’ land won’t pay any tax”

Written on 7 February 2009. Posted in Business and farming.

How about this objection to LVT from the Guardian’s Comment is Free? “So people and organisations which don’t ‘own’ land but just rent or borrow it won’t pay any tax? Sounds like a top plan.” Everyone uses land. Either they own it or they rent it. Whatever the case, they make a contribution to the LVT.

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