Site Value Tax Campaign update

Smart Taxes hosted a very lively and well attended event in Trinity College, Dublin, on Monday evening 24th September. Three ex city Mayors, one an ex Lord Mayor, announced their presence. As expected and desired, the panel were challenged with many hard and interesting questions. John Bowman showed his experience and skill in keeping the discussion on topic and well tempered. Politicians from all parties (especially the Labour Party it has to be noted) showed admirable interest in debating the property tax in Ireland, as with the launch of the Fair Tax book, but very few media columnists attended.

Land Taxation & the Renewal of Growth in the Irish Economy

Report by Fred Harrison: "Ireland’s lower corporate tax rate is a two-edged sword: it attracted foreign capital, but the net gains were either (i) capitalised into disruptively higher land values, which helped to fuel the property boom/bust, or (ii) were repatriated. Hong Kong’s much lower income tax heightened incentives to work, save and invest. Hong Kong is recognised as the most competitive economy in the world. We only need to compare the skyline of Hong Kong with Dublin to appreciate that something remarkably different was, and is, driving the Asian Tiger’s economic engine."

Call for professional site valuations for property tax – The Irish Times …

Call for professional site valuations for property tax – The Irish Times … SUZANNE LYNCH A PROFESSIONAL property assessor should be used to undertake site valuations when the property tax is introduced, an economics conference heard yesterday. Speaking at the Dublin Economics Workshop in Galway, economist Ronan Lyons said a State-wide checklist should be introduced [...]

Citizen’s Dividends: Basic Income from your Share of the Commons

Mike Sandler, a member of Feasta’s climate group, writes in the Huffington Post about Cap and Dividend – a variation of Cap and Share – and Dennis Kucinich’s proposal for monetary reform, known as the NEED act. Sandler suggests that income from such measures could be used to fund a citizen’s income. He then points out that such a programme could also be funded by quantatitive easing, at least in the short term. …