Anyone else in the South East worried about Andy Burnham bringing in a land tax?

Shouting “Ecky Thump” .. as we wave our strings of Black Pudding around our heads

Is he not going to decant Westminster to Manchester City Hall? I wish he would frankly.

Would it make much difference? Stamp duty is related to value and value is also related to how big a plot you have, and land is also more expensive in places with expensive housing. Or you think it will be at a much higher level than stamp duty? He could just raise that rather than reinventing the wheel. But it would be a government decision not just his, unless he's going to try to emulate Trump.

I mean I agree that a land value tax needs to replace stamp duty, but the way they’ve implemented it in some EU countries I’ve lived in is that it’s decided per parish pretty much. So Westminster will have a much % of land value tax than say Hull. That would eliminate the regional inequality of a flat rate.

One suggestion is the top 20 odd % will pay more than currently and everyone else less. That sounds like taxing the rich to me, especially when you bring second homeowners and empty properties into the mix, which on the outline I read suggested that they would pay double.

There is a Clacton resident with £5M

Those with the broadest shoulders etc. etc. It will be a vote winner. Who doesn't want someone else (in the south east) to pay for their services?

Look, I know we don't want them to find out how pretty it is up here (and we have nicer water) in case they invade, but let's not over-egg it.

Sticky Toffee pudding for sure, and some Everton mints on the side

As a renter in London I’m wondering how this tax will inevitably be passed onto me on top of my already extortionate rent.

However, I think we should get rid of stamp duty because it’s completely stupid so it this replaces it I’m happy.

Also this is how it’s done in most of the US instead of high income taxes which makes sense to me.

I'm not sure how it will be introduced but if in theory it replaced stamp duty, it could make it easier to downsize. Currently if you downsize, you have to find a chunk of money for stamp duty upfront. With lvt, instead you'd see your land value bill go down. So it could incentivise downsizing more than the current system which makes any move very expensive up front.

You will see us coming down the M6 with our faces smothered in gravy to hide our identities as we invade your nice villages.

Flee, the Northerners are coming

Maybe, like the Roman Empire you could build a great big wall, this time from Kings Lynn to Gloucester - keep the Northern Tribes out. We could call it The Daily Mail Wall …

Sure because what we absolutely need are taxes which will disproportionately affect working families and massively discourage older people from downsizing

If only - unfortunately my house in East Anglia will not sell!

Because you're already suspicious of him just because he's a Northerner. "Ooh, he's going to pick on all the Southerners". A land tax based solely on region rather than the value of the land would be totally illegal, but that won't stop you hurling the accusations. What next? He wears a flat cap? Has a whippet? Drinks builders' tea?

The difference is that Burnham has explicitly endorsed a specific policy proposal for an annual property tax at 0.48% of land value. So I think your post is unfair. This is not scaremongering.

So someone living in a large house in SE England might have a house worth £1.5m. They will have paid a load of stamp duty on that house and in order to buy it will be in a job paying lots (and lots of tax). Same home, same job up north. Wages 2/3rds London wage, house prices 2/3rd London amount, far lower income tax and stamp duty paid. The person living in the south is facing paying another tax despite paying far more tax already. Does this strike you as fair?

I agree.

While I get the principle ‘higher land value means you are wealthier means this is a form of wealth tax’…

… what it ignores is that you get a lot less house in HCOL areas - and then are going to be doubly penalised for that.

My house is very small, but it was very expensive because it’s in London. It’s not quite what one would imagine a million pound property to look like….

One aside to this which could be positive - removing stamp duty. As this is a terrible tax.

How often will they revalue the properties? If a town becomes a hot spot and people bid up prices, does everyone's land tax go up?
If you put an extension on, or if your flat goes from leasehold to freehold, or if a new runway is announce over your back garden, how soon does that feed into what you pay?

The website says;

The rate will remain fixed at 0.48%, if house prices rise as they have historically then the amount paid will rise inline with the average rise across the last three years. If house prices are flat then the PPT will be unchanged. If prices fall you will pay less. The system acts as an automatic stabiliser, in tough times your bills would feeze[sic] or fall.

This is a tax cut for around 19 million households. Across the country, the tax would see HM Treasury gain £5.6 billion in surplus revenue.

but they don't say how they know the value of every house. A new office of house pricing that monitors and inspects?

It might be time to leave the country folks...or sell up and buy a flat.

Race to the bottom now.

Nothing, Dandelion and Burdock is my chippy can of choice but I know its a bit marmite so vimto would be the safer option for the likes of Macron and Trump

People have already paid above the odds for properties in the SE - why is it "fair" that they should additionally be taxed more? No-one is "living off unearned wealth" while they live in their overpriced 3 bedroom terraced houses in London. I would love to live in a cheaper part of the country but my job and that of DH (in medicine) ties us to London and the hideous house prices. We are not all investment bankers and it wouldn't be great for the SE if we all upped sticks and moved to more affordable parts of the country.

Just keep reading the Daily Telegraph. They will list loads of things to keep wealthy home owners in the SE awake at night. Usually under a headline featuring the words "nightmare" or "attacked". Non of these will actually happen

He needs to keep us people in Makerfield sweet though to prove we weren't a stepping stone