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Young people have it better than their parents in many
ways, but not when it comes to housing
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Taxing older people more will not solve
inter-generational unfairness as it will do nothing to resolve
the housing crisis
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Declassifying areas of green belt land and allowing for
taller developments are among TPA proposals to build the homes
needed
The TaxPayers’ Alliance is today (Friday 11th January) calling on
the government to ignore demands for higher taxes on
the elderly to address intergenerational
unfairness - and instead take urgent action to
solve the housing crisis.
Young people today enjoy many advantages that older generations
never had at their age. Freer markets have led to an
ever-increasing standard of living and big reduction in poverty.
But the young get a bad deal when it comes to housing. In a new
report released today, the TPA argues for drastic
reform to Britain’s planning system to kick start house building
for the next generation of families.
Left leaning think tanks have called for
a tax on older people to
heal the inter-generational divide, but this would do nothing
to resolve the key issue facing young people today - the housing
crisis. Instead of taking money away from pensioners and families
through punitive tax increases, the government should take urgent
action to allow more homes to be built.
Homes are most expensive mainly in the areas where job prospects
are strongest. What's more, the evidence shows that the
restrictive planning system means a shortage of housing, which of
course drives up costs.
We should grant property developers substantially more freedom to
build homes where they’re needed. That would result in a fall in
costs over time and more of us - particularly younger people who
are more mobile - will be able afford to take up better jobs
while reducing the cost of living for everyone else.
John O’Connell, Chief Executive of the TaxPayers’ Alliance
said:
“Living standards are improving on most measures, but young
Brits are struggling with the cost of housing and find it more
difficult than their parents to rent or buy a home. That's not
good enough, and given that politicians caused this crisis by
implementing such stringent planning laws, it's staggering that
anyone thinks that even more intervention through taxpayer-funded
subsidies or tax hikes are the right answers. It's time to get
real and free up some areas of green belt and allow for taller
buildings, so that young people in Britain can look forward to
building a bright future for themselves and their families."
