Rate hate motive
July 13, 2000 12:00 AM
By Cllr Ray Fincher, Liberal Democrat Group Leader in Feltham Chronicle/Hounslow Chronicle
By Cllr Ray Fincher, Liberal Democrat Group Leader in Feltham Chronicle/Hounslow Chronicle
The new council arrangements threatened the primacy of the old style full council meeting.
To give substance back to this event each political group is invited in turn to choose a topic for debate.
On Tuesday, July 18, at 7.30pm in the antechamber at the Civic Centre, it is our turn.
Grass root-democracy brings responsibility. We all have to face the fact that taxation is integral to any governance.
No one warms to taxation, but it is an inevitable part of any sustainable and fair democratic society.
Since taxes are here to stay it behoves us to move towards the fairest system that can be found.
My party's policy is that we should move to a system of local income tax to replace Council Tax, the argument being that those who have more, pay more.
Secondly, we would replace the Uniform Business Rate with a system of land value taxation - supporters of this spread across party lines.
The various societies who promote this method of taxation see it as a replacement for most or all of the current Inland Revenue demands, not just business rates.
We have been lucky to secure two good, experienced speakers to lead our debate.
Tony Vickers is the chief executive of the Henry George Foundation. It was Henry George who wrote the world's first best-selling book on economics called Progress and Poverty back in 1879.
He advocated what has been called the best tax never to have been tried in Britain and his book heavily outsold Karl Marx's Das Kapital.
Our second speaker is Brian Hardy, national director from the rating department of Jones Lang La Salle.
We have structured the debate - Local Authority Funding; the options - to allow contributions and questions from councillors and members of the public. This debate is to inform and allow sensible campaigning in a sensitive area.
The evening is open to all. Listen or contribute, it's up to you.
What would you like to do next?
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