1 * LVT Land Value Tax (Not a new tax!) There are better ways to run things Mike Lake This presentation came about as a result of an invitation to speak to “A” level students about the philosophy of religion. The brief was to cover the classic proofs of god and to “challenge” the students from a non-theist perspective. The “proof” of Hippoism, slide 6, covers all the classic arguments about god. For the first part of this presentation to work it is important that students are not told in advance that the presenter is an atheist humanist. “X is visiting us to talk about his/her beliefs” is sufficient. This short personal history should not cover belief. * 1

2 Land Why has land vanished from Economics?Land has unique attributes - it is not “capital”. Who owns land? How did they acquire it? What benefits does it provide? How has land ownership changed history? Is the status quo “fair” and “just”? The wealth of the Duke of Westminster ("Grosvenor Group") and the Earl Cadogan ("Cadogan Estates"), over £17 billion between them, is made up almost entirely of land, much of it in central London (Westminster and Chelsea) - yet they did nothing to earn it and they pay no tax on its value.

3 Taxation Messy, impossible to understand and easy to avoid!Many taxes (including VAT) discriminate in favour of the wealthy and against the rest. Hammond, white-van man, lawyers, consultants, the gig economy and NI “reform”. A party committed to “not raising taxes” has nowhere to turn - it can only tinker at the edges. A party committed to “the fair distribution of taxes” can think boldly. Council Tax, Business Rates and Stamp Duty Land Tax - a messy, unfunny, unfair joke! An unfair and complex system is against the public interest - but employs Tax Accountants and lawyers!

4 Property Taxes Business moans about Business Rates and demands special exemptions. Why should taxpayers subsidise business? Capitalism is never “red in tooth and claw” - it always demands exemptions, grants & loans. Band H South Derbyshire: £3,133 Band H Kensington & Chelsea: £2,085 Band H Westminster: £1,337

5 A socialist view? Winston Churchill"Roads are made, services are improved, lights turn night into day, water is brought from reservoirs and all the while the landlord sits still. Every one of these improvements is created by the labour and cost of other people and taxpayers. Those who own the land contribute nothing, as land owners, and yet the value of their land is increased. The land owner provides no service to the community and nothing to the process by which he is made richer. The unearned increase on the value of land is not in direct proportion to the service done but to the disservice done." Winston Churchill

6 Land Value Tax Land is a common asset shared by all.Infrastructure is funded by all. Planning decisions involve all. We should all benefit from the use of land. LVT is a tax on the value of land - not a tax on land or property. The value of land depends on: Where it is. What we permit it to be used for.

7 Land Value Tax LVT is fair. You pay tax on the benefit you gain from the use of land. LVT is simple to understand. LVT is impossible to avoid - you can’t bury it in a tax haven! Land is easy to value - its market value. LVT can be thought of as a rent that society gets for allowing specific use of land in specific places: housing, industry, offices, farming, deer stalking, grouse moors ...

8 LVT benefits Encourages efficient use of land. Encourages building.Encourages use of brown field sites. Discourages land-banking. Discourages land speculation. Reduces cost of agricultural land. Reduces the property bubble. Helps regenerate areas outside SE. Society benefits with change of use.

9 Practical stuff The Land Registry doesn’t know who owns all the land in England. Land owners would have time to register the “Clearly Identified Owner” (CIO). LVT is payable by the CIO - not tenants. Land value is established by the market. Land value will change immediately on zoning or permission for change of use. Failure to pay results in an accumulating charge against the land.

10 People I love the normal distribution!

11 People I love the normal distribution!

12 The opposition “The free press”

13 The opposition Free to manipulate for personal gain

14 CAP payments Paul Dacre: £250,340 Duke of Westminster: £748,716Duke of Buccleuch: £251,729 (240,000 acres) Duke of Atholl: £231,188 (145,000 acres) Reginald Sheffield: £262,242 Philip Astor: £385,279 Elizabeth Windsor: £415,817 Charles Windsor: £127,868 Prince Bandar: £273,905

15 Other countries? Germany, Denmark, Taiwan, Estonia, South Korea, Singapore, Australia, USA. Publicly owned land. Debt creates bubbles but ultimately slows down the economy. Shift from relationship to collateral banking. National obsession with house prices.

16 LVT questions The poor widow? Publicly owned land? Listed property?Tax avoidance: trusts and charities? Replaces existing taxes - which ones? Rented and leasehold property? Well researched “A Land Value Tax for England” by Andy Wightman “Rethinking the Economics of Land and Housing” Josh Ryan-Collins, Toby Lloyd and Laurie Macfarlane

17 A way out of the mess Tax reform including LVT.Citizen’s income for all. Free and fair press. Owned by UK citizens resident in the UK and paying tax in the UK. Abolition of trusts and other tax fiddles. Abolition of tax havens. Introduction of “Clearly Identified Ownership”. UK citizens to register all overseas assets. Citizen’s bank. Relocation of parliament. Revoke anti-trade union legislation. Secular education. Declaration of religious affiliation.