Land value tax: the perfect tax?
About this episode
This episode discusses the concept of land value tax, its potential benefits and drawbacks, and the political and practical implications of its implementation.
Land value tax has long been popular with economists. Unlike most taxes, it doesn’t discourage people from working, investing or building - and in theory it can raise money without distorting economic decisions. So why don’t we use it more? In this episode, Helen is joined by Stuart Adam and Ben Zaranko to explain how a land value tax would work, who would gain and lose from introducing one, and why its effects can be very different for existing landowners and future buyers. We also look at some of the big practical and political questions. Can land really be valued accurately? Would the tax be fair? Could it replace council tax, stamp duty or other taxes? And should governments capture more of the increase in land values created by new infrastructure or planning permission? Become a member: https://ifs.org.uk/individual-membership Find out more: https://ifs.org.uk/podcasts-explainers-and-calculators/podcasts Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
People in this episode
Host: Helen
Guests: Stuart Adam, Ben Zaranko
Topics covered
- land value tax
- economics
- taxation
- government policy
- infrastructure
- fairness
Keywords
- land value tax
- economics
- taxation
- government policy
- infrastructure
- fairness
- council tax
- stamp duty
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Institute for Fiscal Studies
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