Bruce Crawford, Scottish National Party

We support a fairer system of local taxation to replace the Council Tax.

We participated in the cross-party Commission on Local Tax Reform trying to develop a consensus and build an enduring alternative.

The SNP ignored the cross-party Commission’s recommendations and have proposed to make arbitrary changes to Council Tax. A change to a system of land value tax can give economic and social benefits, as demonstrated in other countries. This system does not penalise people who improve their property as the tax is based only on the land value.

It also encourages derelict land in urban areas to be brought back into productive use.

We support the Commission’s recommendation to carry out further work to evaluate land value tax during the next parliament. This will consider both domestic and business properties resulting in a simplified tax system.

It is important we take time to get this change right. With cross party and public support we can make this significant change endure for generations. We want businesses to have a strong role in shaping the new system. We require robust transition arrangements alongside measures to protect people with low incomes from adverse changes. This will involve a fullscale review of business rates removing current penalties when businesses improve premises or install renewable energy machinery.