Tax land to pay for Council services, urge Lib-Dems

Shadow Cabinet Member for Finance and Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group, Saddleworth South Councillor John McCann

The Shadow Cabinet Member for Finance and Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group, Saddleworth South Councillor John McCann, will be proposing that the Council back calls for the introduction of Land Value Taxation to help pay for public services at the next full meeting of Oldham Council (March 28).

Cllr McCann said: “Land Value Taxes work successfully in over 30 countries across the world.

"Landowners are charged an amount every year based upon the rental value of their land.

"This amount is based upon the unimproved value of the land, in other words the amount is not increased if the land is developed upon with buildings or other infrastructure.

"Two advantages to a Land Value Tax is that it is very cheap to collect and very difficult to evade.”

Cllr McCann added: “Land Value Taxes can be revenue-neutral. By this we mean that they could replace other local taxation raised through the Council Tax and Business Rates.

“This would reduce the financial burden placed upon our residents, particularly our lower-income households, and our small businesses in paying for Council services.”

Shaw Lid-Dem Councillor Chris Gloster is seconding the motion.

He added: “A Land Value Tax also has other benefits.

"It would discourage land-banking, where owners simply hold onto vacant land in the hope that they can make more profit in the future if its value rises, and instead encourages them to develop them with homes or businesses more quickly, once planning permission is granted, to generate an income to help pay the charge. T

"his would provide more homes and jobs for people in our Borough, and, as many of these homes would be on brown-field sites, it will give us a greater chance to spare more of our precious and irreplaceable Green Belt from unwanted development.”

Meanwhile, Lib-Dem Shadow Cabinet Member for Housing, Transport and Planning, Cllr Dave Murphy, will be proposing a motion calling for Oldham to become a single use plastic-free Borough at the Council meeting.

Cllr Murphy said: “300 million tons of new plastic is made across the world every year, around half of this is turned into billions of items, such as drinking straws, cups and utensils that are used once and discarded.

"Much of this waste goes to landfill, more sadly still some of it ends up in our oceans.

“I think all of us will have been shocked by the recent images on our televisions and on social media of the world’s oceans being smothered by discarded plastic and sea birds and mammals choking on this detritus."