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Section 7 - Are there other Taxation Systems that should be considered?
Land Value Tax
60. The Government's proposal is for a local income tax to replace the council tax. Other proposals have been made and, in the interests of open discussion, some of these are set out here. One prominent alternative system of local taxation is a land value tax. In its simplest form, land value tax is a tax based on the value of land owned. This contrasts with our current methods of local taxation based largely on properties. For this reason, land value tax is usually proposed as an alternative to both domestic property taxation and Non-Domestic rates.
61. Land value tax can take many forms, such as being introduced in certain geographical (usually urban) areas only or being combined with, for example, a land improvement tax. Land value tax could have a range of economic impacts on the property and land markets. It would be likely to re-distribute the taxation burden, narrow the tax base and simplify the valuation process. More information on land value tax is available at: www.scotland.gov.uk/afairertax
Environmental Taxes
62. The Scottish Government is firmly committed to a greener Scotland and taking steps to secure a sustainable future. There have been a number of recent proposals to encourage sustainable behaviour through taxation measures, including a plastic bag levy and council tax discounts for energy efficiency changes to homes. We would welcome views as to whether there are taxation options we should consider to promote a greener Scotland.
63. The Scottish Government is committed to high levels of recycling. Many other countries with high levels of recycling have systems in place to charge householders for the amount of residual waste ( i.e. waste that is not recycled) which they throw out. The charges for this residual waste vary, depending on the amount of waste involved.
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