Howard Davies "a professor of practice at Sciences Po in Paris and former deputy governor of the Bank of England", not to mention Executive Chairman of the Financial Services Authority from 1997-2003, levies justified criticism at Clegg's idea of windfall taxes on "wealth" in today's FT, rounding off thusly:
So this kite does not look destined for a long flight. But there are others which could be more viable. The mansion tax remains a realistic option, as does a land value tax, which could be presented as a form of wealth tax, yet is far easier to collect and has fewer economic disadvantages. Indeed it should promote more active utilisation of land, which we sorely need.
If Mr Clegg's true game is to put these more focused imposts back on the table, his unusual speculation may turn out to have some virtue.
Thursday, 30 August 2012
Oh, so now he says it...
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4 comments:
All very well, but Cleggy and Wince see LVT as an extra tax...
L, Cleggy certainly does, I think Vince is a bit sharper than that. In any event, they are politicians, surely they know that their only slight chance is to sell it as a replacement tax?
From the comments on the article "It will be interesting to see what happens to the private bill put forward by Caroline Lucas for a study into the practicability and effects of a land value tax."
It will indeed. The expression "kicked into the long grass" springs to mind.
B, her private member's bill was briefly debated and some crusty old Tory spluttered "But what about poor widows in mansions?" to tumultous applause.
The concept of "Great idea! All we have to do is sort out some sort of discounts, exemptions or deferment option for pensioners and we're home free" never occurs to them, despite most tax legislation is 10% taxing provisions and 90% reliefs and exemptions.
(They have a deferment scheme for pensioners in Norther Ireland who don't want to pay their Progressive Property Tax, it's hardly an alien concept.
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