The Taxpayers' Alliance cites approvingly the Mirrlees report, the Institute for Fiscal Studies' definitive review of the structure of the UK tax system. What they neglected to mention was the Mirrlees recommendation for a "housing services tax" – a revamped, increased version of council tax, "levied as a proportion of up-to-date values with no cap and no discount for unoccupied or single-occupancy properties".and Jonathan thinks he knows why ....
So if a housing services tax is such a wonderful idea, who would lose from it? Precisely those vested interests who would gain most from the Taxpayers' Alliance/Times proposal for abolition or sharp reductions in stamp duty – well-off homeowners, their children whose inheritances might be eroded, and rich foreigners buying expensive property in London.Stamp out stamp duty by all means, but replace it with a fair housing tax
