Fiscal Freedom
Edinburgh welcomes tourism tax plan
SNP-controlled Edinburgh City Council has welcomed the inclusion of a Transient Visitor Levy Bill in the Scottish Government’s programme for Scotland.
Tourism levy meeting call
Core Cities has called for a meeting with new culture secretary Nicky Morgan and her ministers to discuss the idea of a hotel room levy.
Let’s talk about tax
Colin Copus and Steve Leach ask how we should approach the problem of how to finance English local government and examine how comparable nations use their local taxation powers
Calls for new PM to make council funding 'immediate domestic priority'
Calls have been made for the next Prime Minister to make council funding his 'immediate domestic priority' after Boris Johnson won the Conservative Party leadership contest.
Emergency settlement call as councils face financial cliff-edge
Calls have been made by a think-tank for a one-year emergency local government settlement with councils facing a ‘financial cliff-edge’.
Council tax system needs 'fundamental reform'
The council tax system is ‘highly regressive and unsustainable,’ and needs ‘fundamental reform,’ progressive think-tank IPPR has argued.
Cut business rates, claims Treasury's Truss
Business rates should be cut to support the private sector, chief secretary to the Treasury, Liz Truss, told a Smith Square debate last night.
Doubts over new taxes to fund Commonwealth Games
New forms of tax are unlikely to fill a £40m hole in funding for the Commonwealth Games budget, councillors in Birmingham have been told.
Local income tax best bet for fiscal devo - IFS
Local income tax would be the best option for fiscal devolution if the Government wanted to hand more powers to local authorities, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) argued today.
A taxing problem
Heather Jameson looks at the latest report from the IFS’s Local Government Finance Commission, which suggests a local income tax would be the best option for fiscal devolution.
Spending Review launch dependent on securing Brexit deal
Chancellor Philip Hammond has announced he plans to launch a full three-year Spending Review before the summer recess if a Brexit deal is agreed.
Call for place-based Spending Review
The Treasury should develop a new national place-based Spending Review, the independent Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA) charity has argued.
NLGN in fresh fiscal devolution call
Only full fiscal devolution with comprehensive tax-raising powers at a local level will deliver the change communities crave, a report by the NLGN think-tank has urged.
Call for tourism tax review
An inquiry into cultural investment in cities has called for a UK-wide review of the benefits of a tourism tax.
Denver tax 'demonstrates fiscal devolution need'
The introduction of a 0.25% sales tax in Denver is ‘further proof of the need for devolved political power in the UK,’ a local government finance expert has suggested.
Business backs Edinburgh tourism tax
Seven out of 10 Edinburgh businesses back plans for a tourism tax in the city, a survey has found.
Gwynne: There's been no end to austerity
Opposition politicians have hit out at the Government’s record on funding the sector at the County Councils’ Network conference today.
Tax experts dismiss local VAT call
Tax experts have dismissed the idea of local VAT despite calls from MPs and the London Finance Commission.
EXCLUSIVE: Councillors silenced on secret fiscal devolution report
Senior councillors have been warned not to talk about a secret Local Government Association (LGA) report that models what fiscal devolution might look like, The MJ has been told.
Dawes invites tourism tax call
Marsham Street has given its clearest indication yet that it could be open to considering council calls for a tourism tax.