The housing, communities and Local Government Committee held a review of Land Value Capture on 8 May, which is now available on the web at the following URL: https://goo.gl/DxSCDM
Steve Akehurst of Shelter estimated that only 25% of land uplift due to development is recovered for the community at present in the UK, as opposed to 80% in Holland or Germany.
In the wake of the Salisbury attack, should non-Resident Russians be able to own homes in the UK? ALTER secretary David Cooper argues that preventing this could be an effective sanction that actually benefits the UK, see Guardian Letters...
Our fringe meeting at federal conference in Southport was entitled, 'Reforming business rates and council tax' with Michael Meadowcroft (standing in photo), a former Liberal member of Parliament and life-long campaigner invited to introduce the discussion.
Tony Vickers of ALTER (sitting to the right) also spoke on more technical matters and solutions to the problems raised by our policy of using site value rating to replace the present taxation methods supporting local services...
ALTER has submitted its response to the Inquiry on Land Value Capture to the Communities and Local Government Committee Inquiry. Compiled by ALTER executive member Chris Glover, it criticises so called betterment taxes and explains why Land Value Tax is the way forward. It proposes several short term measure including removal of capital gains exemption for domestic property sale. The document can be read here.
The Communities and Local Government Committee (CLG) is calling for written submissions which examine the effectiveness of current land value capture methods, and the need for new ways of capturing any uplift in the value of land associated with the granting of planning permission or nearby infrastructure improvements and other factors...
The Scottish Land Commisstion is seeking partners in a project to "assess, with reference to international experience, the potential of land value taxation to contribute to a more productive, accountable and diverse pattern of land ownership and use in Scotland and to identify a set of potential policy options that merit further consideration by SLC".
A housing crisis is sweeping through cities from Sydney to London to San Francisco. Following a short slump in 2008, house prices across the OECD have soared, contributing to a decline in living standards and a rise in wealth inequality. Today, housing is the source of economic anxiety, social resentment, and political frustration.
Home owners collect £50Bn economic rent annually by not having to pay taxes on land uplift. ALTER Secretary David Cooper's article on Libdem Voice shows that this has the same impact on our economy as a currency forging ring with a £50bn turnnover.