Council leaders campaign for control of property taxes
THE leaders of England’s biggest city councils have joined forces to campaign for the devolution of property taxes.
Speaking at a fringe session of the Conservative Party Conference, Manchester City Council leader Sir Richard Leese said such a plan would mirror the decentralised structures of some European countries.
Property Week quoted Mr Leese as saying: “It’s a campaign we hope all political parties will take on.”
The mayor of London’s finance commission has already put forward a number of proposals designed to allow cities more freedom over a variety of taxes. One would devolve all property taxes, with a pound-for-pound reduction in the government grant.
At a separate meeting Sir Merrill Cockell, chair of the Local Government Association, said Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have a lot more powers than England and a better financial deal.
He said: “We don’t want to change what they get but would like some of that too and believe that should be done at a local level.”
He was speaking at an event held by the think tank Reform on the back of a Deloitte report into public services called The State of the State.
According to the report public spending per head in 2011-12 was £8,491 in England, £9,740 in Wales, £10,088 in Scotland and £10,623 in Northern Ireland.
