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whoownsengland.org

1086: Domesday Book

1873: Return of Owners of Land

1911: Lloyd George's valuation maps

1925: Land Registration Act

What do we know about land ownership today?

About 87% of land in England & Wales is registered

You can find out who owns a particular property, for £3

No way to find out what a person owns

No official statistics

INSPIRE (2006): grudging, minimal geographic boundaries!

2016: Land Registry accidentally releases data on offshore ownership

2016: FOI requests

  • One-third of all land in England & Wales (12m acres) owned by corporate bodies
    • 6 million acres owned by limited companies
    • 1.5 million by local authorities
    • 4.5 million by miscellaneous others
  • About 300k by overseas companies

2018: Company and overseas company ownership data released (sort of)

Increasing interest in land in policy terms

  • Housing  issue
  • Subsidy system increasingly regarded as unfair & will have to change
  • Recognition that land has been forgotten in economic terms

Land value tax: pros

  • Encourages productive use of land
  • Hard to hide or avoid
  • Evidence it supports economic growth, reduces house price volatility
  • Already used in Denmark, Estonia, Barbados and Australia - e.g. Denmark has 1% tax <£340k, 3% above

Land value tax: cons

  • Politically difficult - a 'salient' tax. 'Garden tax' issue!
  • We already have the highest 'property tax' in the developed world
  • Practical issues around implementation
  • Gradual introduction needed
  • Forces highest-value use of land

Land value capture:
an idea whose time has come?

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