Land Value Tax (LVT) should replace the rates system
The SNP has got into the habit of kicking issues down the road although, strangely, the proposed amalgamation of local councils and Health Boards appears to be a rushed.
Land Value Tax (LVT), meanwhile, is a well understood theory.
LVT is Sovereignty party policy.
You pay a tax on the ground that you own, and the community would get the benefit of the tax take. Around 432 people own 60 per cent of the land in Scotland.
Those that own vast tracks of unused land and do nothing with it, trophy estates, would be encouraged, by being taxed, to either bring the land into use or to sell the ground on.
Unused land is currently used by owners to gain access to subsidy schemes. Sales of ground because of LVT would lead to the repopulation of currently empty land.
Hannah Mary Goodlad, minister for public finance, led a debate on land taxation at last weekend’s SNP annual conference.
The speech was light on detail; in fact, the whole premise was to start an investigation on how to bring about land taxation at some point in the future.
The motion reads: “Conference recognises that land ownership is a form of wealth … a land tax tailored to Scotland’s needs would be a useful tool to help reduce the unacceptable concentration of land ownership in Scotland.”
That would be a benefit to communities, but there would be further benefits if LVT was applied. One would be to scrap the rates system.
It seems that the SNP accept rates, at least for the moment. Most folk are unhappy with the valuation methods, while businesses are screaming out in pain at huge increases in business rates, which on top of the high cost of energy is pushing many businesses over the edge.
People may not be aware of LVT yet, but LVT is a viable replacement for rates.
There was a smart amendment to the SNP conference resolution which was accepted which said that foreign based landowners should register their land ownership details properly, this is a serious problem for the current system and could be for a future LVT but could be corrected by legislation.
The current tax landscape would change. The rates system would go. We would make a tax contribution relevant to the ground that we own. Properly administered LVT would, over time, reduce income tax, national insurance.
Land Value Tax is a known system, it is not about redistribution of Wealth, but redistribution of the tax burden.
An opportunity lost by the SNP to actually be radical.
Brian Nugent
Sovereignty
Hamnavoe
Burra
