The likely future prime minister is planning a raid on 150,000 UK households
Burnham could bring in a tax affecting 150,000 households (file) (Image: Getty)
Andy Burnham looks set to introduce a tax rule change that will affect 150,000 households if he becomes then next Prime Minister. The Makerfield member of parliament is due to be fast-tracked to take over from outgoing PM Sir Keir Starmer. Plans have been drafted to lower the threshold for the extra levy to include homes worth £1.5million, the Daily Mail reported.
The levy would mean more than 150,000 families would be hit with four-figure tax hikes, particularly those in the south of England. Burnham is also considering a reforming the council tax system, instead basing it on land values in a move likely to leave people living in the south paying up to three times as much as those in the north.
The Labour MP for Makerfield, who is widely expected to be the next prime minister, has long backed a land value tax (LVT). This is a yearly levy on the value of private land that the former Mayor of Greater Manchester has previously hailed as “very productive” and likely to force landowners to make use of land rather than just hoard it.
The idea has been supported by some who call for council tax to be scrapped and replaced with a 1% levy on the value of land. Mr Burnham has said he wants to see council tax reformed while campaigning in the Makerfield by-election. But reasearch shows LVT would hit some homeowners much more than others.
Sources speaking to The Telegraph, average council tax bills are currently higher in the north than south and a 1% levy would reverse this.
Burnham’s price hike could come alongside other tax rises (file) (Image: Getty)
Analysis by the same publication suggested that adoption of LVT would result in southerners paying an annual average of £1,650 while northerners would see bills of £600.
Shadow Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, Sir James Cleverly, said the “garden tax” is straight out of former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn’s playbook.
He said LVT is a tax on aspiration which would punish families who have worked and saved hard to invest in their homes. Patrick Hurley, the Labour MP for Southport, told Fairer Share that his constituents know the current council tax system is unfair.
He said: “Families here work hard and shouldn’t be asked to shoulder a bigger burden than wealthier parts of the country.”
