Primary Colour:
Primary Text:
Secondary Colour:
Secondary Text:
Tertiary Colour:
Tertiary Text:
Colour Picker
Preview
FeaturesTypographyTutorials
Module Title
Home
Module Title

This block of text is used as an example for the colour chooser module on this web site. This paragraph is functionally unimportant, and can safely be ignored.

Module Title
Module Title
Instructions

Select a predefined style from the drop-down or choose your own colours via the handy colour-chooser. When you are satisfied with your selection, click the "Apply Colours" button below to store your selection in a cookie.

Apply Colours

Holyrood opinion poll

With the publication of the interim Calman Report, do you think –
 
Home arrow Holyrood news arrow News categories arrow Business, Industry & Economy (HCL04) arrow Greens urge consideration of Land Value Tax
Greens urge consideration of Land Value Tax Print E-mail
Wednesday, 30 May 2007

Government and opposition parties will need to embrace more radical thinking in order to make Scotland a fairer society, according to the Scottish Green Party.

Speaking ahead of a debate entitled “Wealthier and Fairer”, Patrick Harvie MSP, Green Party policy convener, said that the political mainstream had abandoned any attempt at sharing wealth more fairly in society, and urged parties to resist the idea of replacing an unfair property tax with an unfair income tax and reconsider the Greens’ proposal for Land Value Taxation (LVT)

Under the Greens’ proposals for LVT, the basis of assessment would be land value with the owner of the property rather than the occupier liable. Furthermore, rebates on second homes, exemptions on empty property and discounts on under-utilised property would be abolished. A new means of payment would also be introduced to allow liable persons of low income or insufficient liquidity to elect to defer payment.

The Greens argue that these proposals would mean savings for low income households, as well as other benefits such as exemptions and discounts for pensioners, freeing up derelict and underused land and empty properties and stabilise the housing market.

However, Harvie said that a review of local government finance in the last parliamentary session failed to properly investigate LVT as an option.

"All the other parties are thinking far too narrowly on this issue - the new politics should look at all the options. It is a shame that the Burt review did not examine Land Value Tax other than taking a cursory glance.

“LVT will target the asset rich, not the poorest in society and is an inherently fairer system all round. It will drive efficiency throughout the land-use system, make more land available and resist speculative planning proposals which distort the market. It will offer public benefits, which are currently captured by private interests.

“I urge all parties, and there are LVT supporters in the SNP, Labour and the Lib Dem ranks, to consider LVT as a possible opportunity to break up the polarised arguments over local income tax versus minor tinkering of Council Tax.”
No one has commented on this article.
The author or administrator has closed this item for comments.


Related news items:
Last Updated ( Wednesday, 30 May 2007 )
 
[ Back ]

Featured sites

Site news...


This website has been tested as working under Firefox, and Internet Explorer 6 and 7.  Although the website will work in any of these browsers, users of Internet Explorer may experience some visual distortion due to the browser lacking support for widely accepted open standards.

We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause, and will endeavour to ensure that the site will deliver its content irrelevant of browser choice. 

 We strongly encourage users to install the Firefox web browser, as it is both standards-compliant and free software.  

Please click here to visit the Firefox home page.


 
Visitors: 6523218
We have 1 guest online