The Government is actively considering options to replace council tax and stamp duty, The i Paper understands, as pressure grows on Andy Burnham to act on a system he has previously condemned as unfair.
The former housing secretary, Steve Reed, in his final Commons select committee appearance before he was replaced by Angela Rayner, confirmed that officials were looking at options for council tax and stamp duty reform.
The i Paper has been told that Treasury officials were also looking at their options for overhauling the way property is taxed ahead of Burnham entering No10 in order to brief the incoming administration.
Two models are competing for support. A proportional property tax, which would replace both council tax and stamp duty with a flat 0.48 per cent annual charge on a home’s current value. Or a land value tax, an annual charge based on the value of the land a property sits on, rather than the building.
Burnham has previously said he has “long been persuaded of the argument” for reforming the system and has repeatedly called council tax “highly regressive”, though he has stopped short of endorsing a specific model.
