A Fair Share for Spen Valley: How Land Value Tax Can Transform Our Community

Are you struggling with outdated and unfair taxes? Discover how a Land Value Tax (LVT) can bring equity and efficiency to Spen Valley, address the cost-of-living crisis, encourage development, and provide stable funding for local services.

As an independent candidate for Spen Valley, I am committed to addressing the unfair taxation system that exacerbates financial distress on households. The current taxes, including Council Tax, Stamp Duty, and Bedroom Tax, are outdated and inequitable. They place undue burdens on residents, particularly those in low-income households. These taxes are based on outdated property valuations from 1991, leading to significant disparities and unfair tax burdens.

Stamp Duty discourages property transactions, adding a financial hurdle for homebuyers, while the Bedroom Tax unfairly penalises social housing residents for having 'extra' bedrooms, often without providing suitable alternatives. The system is broken and needs reform.

A Land Value Tax (LVT) offers a fairer and more efficient solution. LVT focuses solely on the unimproved value of land, ensuring that those who own valuable land pay their fair share. This tax encourages the optimal use of land, reducing speculation and urban sprawl, and promoting sustainable development. By taxing land value, LVT discourages land hoarding and promotes the development of underused or vacant land, contributing to better urban planning and environmental sustainability.

LVT provides a stable and predictable revenue stream for local authorities, helping to fund essential public services like schools, healthcare, and infrastructure. Unlike the current system, it does not penalise homeowners for improving their properties or businesses for investing in development. Implementing LVT in Spen Valley will ensure a fairer distribution of tax burdens, lower housing costs by discouraging speculation, and provide stable funding for local services.

Increasing social housing and private housing stock is essential to addressing the housing crisis, but it will not resolve households' financial distress unless we tackle the unfair taxation system at its root. The incentive to land bank, where landowners hold onto undeveloped land to increase its value, must be removed. LVT is a key pillar that will encourage more house building by ensuring land is put to productive use.

As part of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Land Value Capture, I have worked to lay the groundwork for implementing LVT. In Parliament, I will collaborate with fellow MPs to push for legislative changes that replace the outdated and unfair taxes with LVT. This change will benefit Spen Valley by ensuring everyone pays their fair share and local services are adequately funded.

Together, we can build a fairer community where financial distress is alleviated, housing is affordable, and land is used efficiently. Vote for a fairer future. Vote Javed Bashir.

Javed BashirIndependent Parliamentary Candidate for Spen Valleywww.javedbashir.org.uk