Advertisement

Council tax and stamp duty should be set by the mayor’s office, says Tory candidate

Joy Morrissey also wants City Hall to be allowed to set its own income tax rates for the capital - Bloomberg News
Joy Morrissey also wants City Hall to be allowed to set its own income tax rates for the capital - Bloomberg News

A slew of tax raising powers should be handed to the mayor's office, one of three Tory contenders for London mayoralty has said.

Joy Morrissey also wants City Hall to be allowed to set its own income tax rates. Ms Morrissey, a councillor in Ealing with a background in film, set out plans in an article for the City AM newspaper, which is read widely in the Square Mile.

Ms Morrissey is one of three possible candidates – along with Andrew Boff and Shaun Bailey - to fight Sadiq Khan at the 2020 London Mayoral elections.

Hustings are due to be held in coming weeks among Tory candidates with a candidate announced at the Conservative party conference.

The London mayoral candidate said the new tax-raising powers would help to ensure the capital is “unshackled from the constraints of central government and allowed to realise its potential as one of the greatest cities on the planet”.

She continued: “To start with, the full suite of property taxes should be devolved, including council tax, business rates, and stamp duty. 

“Stamp duty in particular often imposes a heavy burden on buyers in the capital, where national bands fail to reflect the fact that London prices vastly exceed the UK average.

“Collecting business rates within London would allow us to reinvest the proceeds of growth into the infrastructure it needs to continue as a globally competitive business hub.

“There is also a clear case for London starting to have control over the tax rates and bands on income.”

Boris Johnson remains the only Conservative to have been mayor of London, following election victories in 2008 and 2012.

Mark Littlewood, Director General at the Institute of Economic Affairs, said: “Both London, and the UK as a whole, has much to gain from devolution. 

"Policy outcomes would also be better because it would allow for greater experimentation and responsiveness to local preferences. 

"Fiscal decentralisation would also see a reduction in wasteful spending as local authorities would be under constant scrutiny from the taxpayer.”