March 2007 Archives

CentreForum (formerly Centre for Reform) is hosting a discussion forum on LVT at its freethink website.

A paper Tax Shift Now: Regaining our Common Wealth, written by ALTER Chair Tony Vickers for Centre for Reform in July 2005 when the Party's Tax Commission started work, is attracting renewed interest. This is because the Tax Commission is about to focus on LVT in its second year of work. Party Conference endorsed LVT as a key part of the Green Tax Switch in September 2006 and asked for detailed policies to be developed during 2007.

The paper is essential background reading for Conference voting representatives. ALTER's specific proposals to the Commission are summarised in a letter to Vince Cable a year ago which you can see here.

Speaking in the debate at Harrogate to Lib Dems at their Spring Conference in a motion on Green and Prosperous Communities (regeneration policies), ALTER Chair Cllr Tony Vickers warned that failure to include taxation of housing land in the policy mix risked the whole credibility of our Green Tax Switch and our commitment to tackle entrenched poverty.

The motion debated lacked any mention of the endorsement of LVT at last autumn's Federal Party Conference or of the work underway in the Tax Commission to develop specific policies on land and property taxation. It merely reflected current policy.

The full text of Tony's speech to Conference can be read here.

In summating the debate, Cllr Chris White acknowledged that the Tax Commission needs to report on further potential for LVT to help in the area of sustainable development.

ALTER's Fringe event at Harrogate (Lib Dems Federal Spring Conference 2-4 March 2007) was a sell-out, with over 60 people packed into a room for 30. The speaker was Chris Huhne, ALTER President and the Party's Shadow Environment Spokesman. His topic was "LVT: The Greenest Tax?"

You can download
a note of the event, with ALTER's "DS Answers" to questions raised in the discussion which followed.

In his latest book Ricardo's Law: House Prices and the Great Tax Clawback Scam Fred Harrison, a former Liberal Party policy adviser, fails to realise that the Lib Dems have re-affirmed support for LVT. ALTER Chair and member of the Party's Tax Commission Tony Vickers, reviews his book here.

Tony says: "Don't be put off by Fred's contempt for our Party. He simply doesn't like politicians! The book is well worth a read, if you didn't already think the Tax Shift was an urgent priority."

Harrison will talk about his book at an open meeting on Friday 9th March 2007 2.30pm
at the School of Economic Science, 11 Mandeville Place, London, W1U 3AJ
(Nearest tube: Bond Street – See map at Station – 4 Minutes walk)
RSVP to hgflibrary@yahoo.co.uk or Tel 020 7034 4000