Property taxes

Scottish Government funding likely to fall in 2027–28, meaning manifesto pledges could force spending cuts or increases to devolved taxes.

The new Plaid Cymru government faces a difficult fiscal outlook – and the need to find common ground with other parties.

A new crop of councillors will face the same challenges – constrained funding, limited revenue-raising powers, and spending pressures and restrictions

A manifesto with big tax and bigger spending increases – and a mixed bag of tax reforms.

A manifesto with a vision for a bigger state but no detail on how to pay for it.

Wales leads on council tax revaluation – but has followed England on a range of ill-advised tax policy changes

The new tax on properties worth £2 million or more in 2026, levied on homeowners from April 2028, will affect London and the South East the most.
 

Join us in-person or online for a debate on how to approach reforming the taxation of housing.

How council tax, stamp duty and other property taxes could be reformed to make the UK’s tax system fairer and more efficient.

An analysis of the key design considerations and potential impacts of council tax reform in Scotland.

If the Chancellor hopes to raise large sums from tax increases at the Budget, she should consider reforms that would make any increases less damaging.

A presentation on the fiscal situation, implications for councils and upcoming council funding reforms.

IFS Senior Research Economist Kate Ogden writes in Municipal Journal about what the 2025 Spending Review will mean for public services and councils.

This report analyses the Scottish Government’s Budget for 2025–26, with chapters on tax strategy, school spending, public sector pay and more.

Council tax in Scotland – as in England – is out of date, regressive and distortionary. How should it be reformed, and what would the effects be?

Scotland’s Tax Strategy is welcome but says little concrete about tax policy. And some actual tax policy is divorced from any sensible strategy. 

We discuss how taxes like capital gains, stamp duty, and council tax impact the housing market, affecting affordability, renting, and homeownership.

At this event, an expert panel debated what part tax plays in housing market failures and what can be done to fix it. 

David Phillips gave this presentation at the IRRV annual conference in October 2024.