Letter and talking points about LVT
Letter/email
This document can be sent to councillors, political parties, MPs or parliamentary candidates. It can be modified to cover any specific local issues, e.g. the Council Tax rates in your area.
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landvaluetax.co.uk/about-lvt/sample-emailletter.
Highlight the text in your browser, copy it, then paste it into an email or letter.
The document
Dear I ask you to support the abolition of all local taxes and their replacement with a national Land Value Tax. All of us have the right to the same services, the same standards of service and at the same cost - no matter where we live. At the moment this is not the case because Council Tax is grossly unfair. In 2025/26 Band D in Gateshead pays £2578, Band D in Westminster pays £1017. In 2009/10 Council Tax covered 40% of local spending, by 2020/21 this had risen to 60% because national government was committed to not raising national taxes. This is not a blame game between local authorities – rural authorities have higher costs because of the larger areas they have to cover, authorities with high levels of social deprivation have higher costs for obvious reasons. Revaluation, or changing council tax bands, won’t fix this difference between local authorities – the unfairness will remain. I would like you to support the idea of nationally defined services, nationally defined standards, national funding and local delivery. Local authorities know their areas so they are in the best position to assess local needs and to deliver local services. The fairest way to do this is to raise the funds required by local authorities through a national Land Value Tax – which is a tax on land value only, not on buildings or gardens. Obviously the value of land, what someone would pay for it if it came up for sale, varies depending on where it is and what it can be used for. The LVT percentage rate would be the same everywhere and would apply to all land no matter what was on it: crops, animals, homes, offices, factories, etc. For items outside those defined nationally, local authorities, with the agreement of local voters, can add a supplement to the national LVT rate. They can also add supplements for things they wish to discourage in their area, such as second homes, holiday homes or airbnbs which reduce the number of homes available to local perople. Historically, through the Poor Laws, local areas (parishes then local authorities) were responsible for vagrants, the unemployed, the unemployable, the disabled, the sick and the poor. Much of this role has been taken on by national government but Council Tax, and other local taxes, are a remnant of this system where costs fall on local residents and are not spread fairly across the country. Land Value Tax is simple (a tax on land value everywhere), fair (those with the most will contribute the most) and impossible to avoid (there are no exceptions and you can’t hide land in a tax haven). Land Value Tax would be implemented over ten years so there would be no sudden changes - people, and the property market, would have plenty of time to adjust. The overwhelming majority of us will pay less under LVT than under Council Tax but those who cannot afford any increase can defer payment of the balance until the property is sold or transferred. No one would lose their home, or be forced to move, because of LVT. I hope you can support the introduction of Land Value Tax. Name address post code email address
Talking points about LVT
These notes are for anyone who is asked to give a talk about LVT. Please contact us if you would like further help, or background data, before giving a talk.
Check our FAQs and objection handlers before giving your talk.
Don’t panic if someone asks a question or raises an objection you can’t deal with. Don’t make things up - just say “Good point, give me your contact details later and I will get back to you by the end of tomorrow.” Then contact us!
LVT is an annual, nationally determined, nationally collected, percentage tax, paid by the freeholder, on the open market value of all land with no exceptions.
We don’t have hypothecated taxes in the UK. LVT is a general purpose tax.
National taxes are required, local taxes aren’t.
The cost of taxes should be distributed fairly across the country.
Some taxes are progressive – those with the most, contribute most.
Income tax and NI are supposed to be progressive – but they have thresholds and ceilings.
Some taxes are regressive – they favour the wealthy by taking a larger share of income from those who are less well off.
Council Tax and VAT are regressive taxes, they are “bad” taxes.
People think of taxes in two ways.
Some think tax “pays for things” and “the government has no money of its own.”
Others think the government pays for things (because government is the only source of money) and uses tax to control the economy.
It doesn’t matter which way you think – Land Value Tax is simple, fair and impossible to avoid.
Some people think we should follow arbitrary “fiscal rules” (who made them up?) and “pay off the debt”.
Others don’t. They see the government as a secure repository for savings – from individuals, banks, companies and countries. National Savings are part of the national debt!
In March 2025 Germany abandoned its fiscal rules in favour of spending on weapons.
We have a crisis in democracy.
In 2024 less that 60% of the electorate bothered to vote – the second lowest turnout ever.
Only 20% of the electorate voted Labour. 8 out of 10 did not vote for the government.
Less that 34% of votes cast went to Labour.
38% of votes cast went to Conservatives and Reform.
Political parties have failed to involve people in politics.
Labour has lost 50% of members since 2019 -10% since the election.
Conservatives have lost 60% of members since 2001.
People have lost trust in politics and politicians.
People are angry about the unfair distribution of wealth in our country.
People are angry about politicians and political parties taking money, donations and gifts.
To overcome this, to rebuild trust, we have to show that “the system” is fair and incorruptible.
The ways to do this are simple, but no political party will do it. (Separate topic!)
As the Norwegian Minister of Finance said "The Norwegian government enjoys a high level of trust compared to other countries. I believe that is related to low inequality."
Land Value Tax is what is says on the tin. It is not a tax on land, property or gardens, it is a tax on the value of land only.
The value of something is what someone would pay for it if it came on the market.
All land has value, even if that value is zero because it cannot be sold or no one would buy it.
The value of land depends on where it is and what it may be used for.
As a society, we own all the land in the country – through the crown.
As individuals we can purchase the right to “hold” land as “freehold” but we can never “own” it.
Society is the only “landowner”, everyone else is a “landholder”.
As a society we control how land may be used through the planning system.
We own it and we control its use – but we gain nothing from it, we don’t charge rent for the privilege of using our land!
The value of land represents about 60% of our national wealth.
LVT is a general purpose tax – it can bring in whatever is required.
LVT is a replacement tax – it can replace bad taxes.
The LVT percentage rate is easy to calculate once we know how much it should raise and the total value of land in the country.
The Land Registry records details of freeholders and values. Only 11% of land remains unregistered.
The value of land is known if sold recently. The Valuation Office Agency (VOA) and RICS surveyors have been valuing land for over 100 years.
LVT is fair – those with the most, contribute most.
LVT is impossible to avoid. We know who the freeholder is and you can’t hide land in a tax haven or a Swiss bank account.
LVT applies to all land in the country and to all land held overseas by UK citizens and UK residents.
LVT allows no exceptions, not for anyone, not for anywhere.
Local taxes are left over from the Poor Laws and workhouses when parishes and local authorities were responsible for vagrants, the unemployed, unemployable, disabled, sick and poor. They are the only taxes remaining that are not spread equally and fairly across the country.
The LVT rate will be set to bring in the same amount that local authorities require to deliver local services.
LVT will be collected centrally, by HMRC. This will free up resources in the 300+ Local Authorities that currently collect Council Tax and Business Rates. Those resources can be reallocated to speed up planning permission and to hold developers to account.
The LVT rate will be the same everywhere.
LVT will end land banking because developers will be paying more as value increases.
LVT will speed up development as soon as permission is granted - because developers will be paying increased LVT.
LVT will erode the North/South divide because business will go to where costs are least.
LVT will stabilise the escalating cost of land and make land cheaper for house building.
LVT will be paid by landlords as freeholders, not by tenants.
LVT will be phased in over 10 years – there will be no sudden change and there will be plenty of time for people and the market to adjust.
The vast majority of us will pay less under LVT than under Council Tax. The tiny minority who will pay over 10% more can defer payment of the balance until property is sold or transferred.
No one will have to move, or sell their home, because of LVT!