Owners of undeveloped lnd could be next on the hit list by the Lib Dem Mansion Tax.
The party is said to be exploring plans to levy a 5-figure charge on potentially valuable empty land with a view to persuading developers to build new homes. The tax would apply to those plots where outline planning permission had been granted or more generally on land that could be used for housing.
A spokesperson for the Lib Dems said “It would encourage people sitting on land holdings to bring the land into economic use…”
Mr Clegg said “For too long in this country there’s been an incentive just to allow undeveloped land to stand empty.”
This is the latest idea for taxation on wealth that the party are delberating on for their 2015 election manifesto, along with plans for a wider tax on the value of land, which the party have pushed for within the coalition.
Source: The Times, February 20th 2013