Property Taxation and the Economy after the Barker Review.

This paper analyses the roles of property and land values in the UK economy and considers property tax reform with the objectives of improving macro-economic stability, resource allocation, economic inequality and the environment. With UK house prices at all-time peaks relative to incomes, concerns about affordability and the distributional consequences have increased. The Barker Review for the UK Treasury of new housing supply reported in 2004 and recommended extensive reforms of the land use planning system, as well as various other reforms, including new development taxes. This paper argues that these taxes are unwise compared to the property tax reforms proposed here