Localis chief executive, Jonathan Werran, said:
Mansion Tax
“The imposition of a high value ‘Mansion Tax' surcharge on
properties worth more than £2 million, although it promises to
bring in some £400m annually from 2028, raises a serious moral
point about the justification for taxing only one subset of
properties at current property values, leaving the rest stuck
forever in 1991.
“Perhaps, this move might be more significant as the crack that
finally opens up a reset and full revaluation of council tax, and
to making this principal source of local government funding a
relevant revenue raising exercise again – particularly in
light of the forthcoming changes to council budgets in the Fair
Funding Review.”
Business rates
“With ‘Price in Place' back on the domestic policy agenda, steps
to keep the hard-pressed foundational economy of our small shops,
cafes and pubs, all of which are crucial to the foundational
economy and local social infrastructure are to be welcomed, as
are plans to reform licensing for the sake of preserving the
nighttime economy.
“While these changes must be balanced against the impact of
minimum wage increases, moves to keep business rates permanently
lower for smaller retail and hospitality premises and shifting
the onus of taxation on warehouses and online importers are
welcome moves to keep the high street alive and kicking, while
continuing to provide a stable source of revenue for local
services.”
SEND provision
“Many in local government will be hailing central government's
commitment to fully fund SEND provision from 2028/29. As a
measure this will further reduce the risk of more councils
issuing section 114 notices, help strengthen local financial
resilience and say a final good riddance in 2027/28 to the
accountancy sleight of hand that is ‘statutory override'.
“However, the story does not end here and there will be the
legacy of historic deficits and debt management, totalling
perhaps £14bn across the sector to manage as a fiscal risk for
councils when setting balanced budgets, let alone the question of
how central government departments will absorb the costs in
day-to-day spending.”
Tourism Tax
“News that we can finally move towards a tourism tax can only be
seen as helpful for champions of fiscal devolution, who have felt
they have been banging their heads in vain against the brick
walls of Horseguards Avenue.
“Put in the proper perspective, a tourism tax is not going to
touch the sides of the social care funding gap. However,
the success of the campaign in establishing the principle, which
will see locally raised tourism revenue held for improving local
economies, and not evaporate into thin air owing to Whitehall
opposition to the reality that some areas will attract more
revenue than others, is clearly a good thing. Just to cite
one example, in York and North Yorkshire a tourism Levy would
bring in an estimated £52 million, which in turn is around three
times the size of the area's Mayoral Investment Fund.”
