In response to the Mayor’s renewed calls for stamp duty devolution, Labour’s London Assembly Spokesperson for Housing, Tom Copley AM, said:
“Compared to other major world cities, London government is infantalised by national government, with almost no tax raising powers available to the Mayor or boroughs.
“Londoners have long been let down by a government unwilling to deliver anything more than warm words, and failing abysmally to support councils in getting building again. It's time politicians in Westminster got out of the way and gave London the financial powers we need to tackle our housing crisis.
"We've not built enough homes in London since governments of the past decided that it wasn't the job of the state to provide housing. We've seen the cost of that choice in rising homelessness, overcrowding and poverty. London's councils and London's Mayor are already trying to change that, but could do so much more given the necessary powers and funding.
“Devolving stamp duty is a start. But we can go further still. Devolving the full suite of property taxes to the capital – including full control over business rates and the power to trial a land value tax – would put us in the best possible place to deliver the maximum level of genuinely affordable homes."
ENDS
Notes to editors
- The London Finance Commission (LFC) recommended the devolution of the full suite of property taxes in a report published in 2017;