Rishi Sunak has faced mounting calls to reform the tax system in his next Budget, as the Chancellor reportedly looks to cover coronavirus related spending. The Fairer Share campaign argued the introduction of a Proportional Property Tax (PPT) could provide a solution to this issue.
The PPT would only be paid by property owners, not tenants and would result in nearly nine million people being exempt.
On top of this, property owners would still likely see a reduction in property tax, with analysis from the organisation showing 76 percent of households (18 million) would pay less.
Full details on the campaign can be found https://fairershare.org.uk/ but the group currently has support from a range of both Labour and Conservative MPs.
Additionally, the campaign has strong support from the public, with a petition calling for the PPT having received over 122,000 signatures thus far.
The Chancellor is also facing these pressures from within his own party, as the following comments from Conservative MPs detail:
Kevin Holinrake, Conservative MP for Thirsk and Malton
“Replacing council tax and stamp duty should be part of the roadmap for a fairer Britain. It’s a fundamental principle of taxation that taxes should be simple, transparent and fair, yet these taxes achieve none of those things.
“Council tax is based on property values that are thirty years out of date, taxes low-value homes at a much higher rate than high-value properties and pushes millions of households into debt. It is emblematic of a broken system that is no longer fit for purpose.”
Aaron Bell, Conservative MP for Newcastle-under-Lyme
“As our focus turns to economic growth, and to building back better, we will need to show in no uncertain terms that the Conservative Party has delivered on the promise to level up those towns and cities previously left behind.
“With the public finances stretched like never before, I – and an increasing number of Conservative MPs – believe the best way for the Government to show voters that this message has got through is by reforming our outdated property taxes. We should begin by overhauling Council Tax, which is not only based on property values that are thirty years out of date, but it is also deeply unfair – placing the heaviest burden on the young, low-earners, and those living in less prosperous parts of the country.”
John Stevenson, Conservative MP for Carlisle
“Our tax system has, over the last 30 years, become too complicated and full of red tape. It needs a fundamental overhaul.
“I would encourage the chancellor to be a reforming chancellor and look at ways to improve the tax system through simplification, but also addressing areas of unfairness. The proposals around reforms to council tax and stamp duty are very welcome and ones which I would support.”
Simon Fell, Conservative MP for Barrow and Furness
“I have been working with colleagues to understand what the alternatives might be to get the economy going again when we begin to bounce back from the pandemic. I am lobbying for a move to a proportional property tax, scrapping council tax and stamp duty in the process.”
Dehenna Davison, Conservative MP for Bishop Auckland
“At what is such an important time for our economy, there is now a real opportunity to come up with long term solutions to deal with geographical inequalities. One of those is the current property tax system.
“The proposals from Fairer Share would reform the system to simplify property taxes, introducing a proportional property tax which would see a huge boost for households on the lowest incomes.”
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