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Now that Andy Burnham has made his home in No10, a new property tax could be on the cards. <\/p>\n
In 2010, he proposed a Land Value Tax (LVT) when he first attempted to become Labour leader. <\/p>\n \u201cThe LVT, an annual tax on the market rental value of land, would allow for the abolition of stamp duty – a tax on the aspiration of young people to put down roots and get on with life,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Later, he expanded on his calls for reform. <\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve long been persuaded of the argument for a Land Value Tax,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n \u201c[Council tax] is a highly regressive tax. I see a big case for land and property and business taxation to be changed.\u201d<\/p>\n So what would a new property tax involve, and how would it affect Londoners?<\/p>\n Andy Burnham enters No10 with his wife Marie-France van Heel after becoming Prime Minister<\/p>\n Getty<\/p>\n What would a new property tax look like?<\/p>\n Mr Burnham previously supported proposals for a proportional property tax (PPT) advocated by campaigning organisation Fairer Share<\/a>, which have received cross-party support.<\/p>\n A PPT is not a pure land value tax (LVT), but a variation based on the value of properties.<\/p>\n Under the proposals, stamp duty<\/a> and council tax<\/a> would be scrapped, with homeowners instead paying a flat 0.48 per cent tax on the current value of their property. <\/p>\n This, says Fairer Share, is the rate required to match the revenue from the current system.<\/p>\n The tax would only be paid by homeowners, not renters, which Fairer Share says would benefit 8.7 million tenants around the country. <\/p>\n Homeowners would benefit from an initial cap, which means that the new tax would not cost more than \u00a31,200 per year, or \u00a3100 per month.<\/p>\n Those moving house, meanwhile, will no longer need to pay stamp duty on their property purchase. <\/p>\n Under the proposals, second homeowners, foreign owners and empty properties will pay a higher rate of 0.96 per cent.<\/p>\n The revenue from the tax would be centrally distributed to local councils. <\/p>\n Having a single, centralised point of collection, says David Fell at Hamptons, is potentially much more efficient than 300 councils each collecting independently.<\/p>\n After a growing frenzy of speculation over whether Mr Burnham would back such major reforms, the new Prime Minister played down the likelihood of them happening any time soon.<\/p>\n “It’s just not the case that we are bringing forward plans, on that scale, at this moment in time,\u201d he said, while stopping short of ruling out some form of new property tax. <\/p>\n Property prices have been falling in London<\/p>\n AFP\/Getty<\/p>\n Why is a new property tax needed?<\/p>\n The Fairer Share campaign\u2019s main aim is to address inequalities in the way that property is taxed, where the owners of expensive homes pay less as a percentage of the property\u2019s total value. <\/p>\n Council tax, for example, is based on an estimate of the property\u2019s value in 1991, regardless of its current market value. <\/p>\n There are currently eight council tax bands, with the top bracket, Band H, having no ceiling above \u00a3320,000. This means that a \u00a3350,000 flat and a \u00a310 million mansion would pay the same tax.<\/p>\n As a result, there have been repeated calls for reform in recent years, arguing that property taxes should more closely reflect property values.<\/p>\n Fairer Share estimates that its proposals would benefit 77 per cent of UK households \u2014equivalent to 18 million people\u2014 with an average saving of \u00a3556.<\/p>\n Scrapping duty, it adds, would protect individual households from large bills when they buy a home, instead spreading the cost across the period of property ownership. <\/p>\n This, it argues, would remove a barrier to home ownership and make it easier for older households to downsize. <\/p>\n Londoners would be heavily affected by a new property tax<\/p>\n PA Archive<\/p>\n What would a new property tax mean for Londoners?<\/p>\n The bad news is that any new property tax is likely to raise bills for many homeowners in the capital. <\/p>\n According to Fairer Share\u2019s estimates, the average homeowner in the city will pay \u00a3260 more per year.<\/p>\n The reason for this is because properties in London and the South East have seen the greatest increase in value since 1991, with homeowners paying proportionately smaller council tax bills. <\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/2286702654...jpeg\")
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