There was a lot of interest in ALTER at the Social Liberal Conference last Saturday. We signed up new members, sold books and made useful contact. Vince Cable himself signed some books for us to use for fundraising purposes. The conference itself was interesting, with some lively debate over Nick Clegg's motion on the economy.
Levying the land Governments should make more use of property taxes Jun 29th 2013 "Taxing land and property is one of the most efficient and least distorting ways for governments to raise money. A pure land tax, one without regard to how land is used or what is built on it, is the best sort. Since the amount of land is fixed, taxing it cannot distort supply in the way that taxing work or saving might discourage effort or thrift. Instead a land tax encourages efficient land use. Property developers, for instance, would be less inclined to hoard undeveloped land if they had to pay an annual levy on it. Property taxes that include the value of buildings on land are less efficient, since they are, in effect, a tax on the investment in that property. Even so, they are less likely to affect people's behaviour than income or employment taxes. A study by the OECD suggests that taxes on immovable property are the most growth-friendly of all major taxes."
ALTER supporters may wish to sign the following epetitions against Help to buy scheme
The Robert Schalkenbach Foundation has released a very competently made and well produced video putting forward the economic case for Land Value Tax called "On Solid Ground", and focusing on the situation of the USA. The main thrust of the video is how and why taxing economic rent is more efficient than taxes on work and profits.
Our Vice Chairman Tony Vickers writes about George Monbiot in yesterday's Guardian.
Undoubtedly the most comprehensive and powerful analysis of the case for LVT and how to proceed with it here and now.