Ɖ Gardịn vy on taxz: hî tîm landǒnrz peid ɖer fer śer
(Transcription of an editorial published in the Guardian on Friday 27 May 2022)
Ǎr cuṛnt taxsistm rwordz a landlord mor ɖn a doctr. W nīd t śift twdz taxñ wlʈ mor n betr
Frîde, 27 Me 2022
Īvn f y liv hundṛdz v mîlz fṛm Padñtn or Stratḟd, y me nǒ ɖt Lundn hz jst opnd a vast n śîni ny reļîn. Wns ɖ 100cm trac z ol jônd p, a bancr flayñ intu Hīʈro wl b ebl t tec wn tren d’recli intu Cnẹri Ẃorf, ẃl a rezidnt v Sǎʈōl wl b ebl t vizit reḷtivz in Sevn Cñz wɖt evr hvñ t ćenj caṛjz, let alon lînz.
Amd ol ɖs wiẓdri, sm aspects v ɖ Iliẓbʈ lîn rmen ri’śurñli tru t ɖ fînist tṛdiśnz v Britiś infṛstrucćr. Naćṛli inuf, it z yirz ovr dedlîn n biłnz abv bujit. Bt wn iṇveśn ispeṣ́li wrʈ hîlîtñ lîz nt in its enɉnirñ bt its īc̣nomics. A big ćunc v ɖ caś fr bildñ cem fṛm bizṇsz alñ ɖ rùt. Ʈru a speśl xtra tax, smtmz cōld ɖ Crosrel suplimnt, bigr cumṗniz stumt p ovr £4bn v ɖ £19bn project. Ɖ prínsipl fr ɖ levi z a simpl wn: ɖ bizṇsz alñ ɖ lîn wl beṇfit fṛm incrist custmrz n īzịr cḿts fr implôīz.
It sǎndz stretfwd. It z stretfwd. So ẃ z ɖ prínsipl so rerli aplaid t ǎr taxz? Ovr a snć̣ri ago, Boris Jonsn’z hiro Winstn Ćrćl argyd: “Rodz r md, strīts r md, srṿsz r impruvd, ilectric lît trnz nît intu de, wōtr z bròt fṛm reẓvwarz a hundṛd mîlz of in ɖ mǎntinz – n ol ɖ ẃl ɖ landlord sits stl … h rendrz no srvis t ɖ cḿṇti, h cntribyts nʈñ t ɖ jenṛl welfér, h cntribyts nʈñ t ɖ proses fṛm ẃć hiz ǒn inrićmnt z d’rîvd.” It wz a rǎzñ cōl fr a landvaly tax, a levi t capćr rîzñ landprîsz, n ovr ɖ decedz it hz bn s’portd bî eminnt icoṇmists n tecn p in verịs formz in sitiz acrs ɖ glob, fṛm Ostreła t īstn Yṛp.
In ɖ YC, Ẃîthōl rvyz hv ćùd ovr ɖ iśu, bt stl ɖr hz bn no sgnificnt progres. Olɖo ɖ Crosrel suplimnt z a parśl acnolijmnt v ɖ arğmnts fr a landvaly tax, it z no sć ʈñ. Ɖ rzult wl b a hyj los v ptnśl genz fr ɖ public prs. At ɖ sǎʈ-īstn trmiṇs v ɖ ny Iliẓbʈ lîn standz Abi Wŭd steśn, ẃć z nǎ jst 20 minits fṛm ɖ Siti, az opozd t ɖ prīvịs jrni tîm v ʈri-qortrz v an aur. Unṣprîzñli, dveḷprz n invstrz hv ruśt intu ɖ eria, duḅlñ locl proṗtiprîsz ovr ɖ past deced. Acrs Lundn, ɖ aṿrij rîz hz bn closr t 55%.
N yt ɖoz hyj unrnd genz wl g olmst untaxt, dprîvñ ministrz v biyñ ebl t clem ɖe hv fundz t bild mor reļînz. Anɖr xampl z HS2, nǎ pṛjctd t cost ɖ public mor ɖn £100bn n t pś p landvalyz ol alñ ɖ rùt – yt wɖ no levi t clw bac eni v ɖoz genz.
Ǎr cuṛnt taxsistm rwordz a landlord mor ɖn a doctr. W nīd t śift twdz taxñ wlʈ mor n betr; t ɖt end, xistñ taxz on proṗti ofn fel. Caunsltax z best on brics n mortr rɖr ɖn land, n z best on proṗtivalyz in 1991. A tax on landvalyz wd b a levi on smʈñ ɖt canot run awe or b śltrd in sm îḷndhêvn, n wd olso dtŕ hōrdñ bî dveḷprz. N it wd hlp bild a mć betr public relm.
