The Lib Dems' Federal Policy Committee (FPC) met on 22nd May to consider the Tax Commission (TC) paper Reducing the Burden and a Minority Report submitted by ALTER Chair Tony Vickers. The TC on 27th March - the only time it was scheduled to discuss land and property taxes on homes - voted down any discussion of Land Value Taxation (LVT) and opted instead for a tax of 1 percent on the value of homes above one million pounds only.

ALTER's Campaign Vice Chair Andrew Duffield, a member of FPC, said after the meeting:

Many of those present clearly regretted the absence of LVT in the paper and supported ALTER's way of achieving abolition of Inheritance Tax and Stamp Duty on homes by a national tax on their site value of half a percent above a regionally variable tax-free allowance.

FPC instead voted to scrap the high-value property tax idea, which means there will be no cut in IHT - something that they indicated they would still like to see funded. Andrew felt there was deep dissatisfaction with the land-tax elements of the paper.

Almost certainly ALTER will be calling for an amendment to the FPC-sponsored Tax policy motion at the Party Conference in Brighton, pointing out the need to control spiralling house prices with LVT. Conference voting reps who would support such an amendment should email Tony Vickers.