Dr. Martina Lawless:

Keeping the two systems as separate and distinct taxes is partially to do with the motivation behind them. The local property tax is to get a stable basis of funding for local councils, coming from people who live in the areas and who are invested in the provision of amenities and so on. That is focused very much on households and on keeping a steady, stable stream of income. I believe that the site value tax has a somewhat different motivation, which is to incentivise more productive use of land. In that case, although the commission's report does not make any particular recommendations about levels or rates, one is probably looking at a tax that is designed in a way that affects behaviour about how the land is used, which is not one of the motivations behind the local property tax at all. It is to allow that differential pricing and differential liability and the motivation behind getting the land developed and used. Having the two different systems would allow those different objectives to be pursued more efficiently.