MODEL

SCOTTISH PARLIAMENT

Land Value Tax

(Scotland) Bill

SP Bill 66
 MODEL
SCOTTISH PARLIAMENT

Land Value Tax (Scotland) Bill

SP Bill 66

CONTENTS

PART 1
ABOLITION OF PREVIOUS TAXES
1 Abolition of council tax and non-domestic rates
2 Report on the operation of this Part
3 Repeals and saving

PART 2
LAND VALUE TAX

Introductory
4 Land value tax

Core provisions
5 Lands subject to tax
6 Rate of land value tax
7 Liability for land value tax
8 Amounts of tax payable

Other rates of land value tax

9 Relief from land value tax
10 Power of local authority to provide land value tax relief
11 Power of Scottish Ministers to prescribe other rates of tax

Valuation
12 Valuation lists
ii Land Value Tax (Scotland) Bill

13 Compilation and updating of valuation lists

14 Inspection, etc. of valuation lists
15 Valuation of areas of land
16 Appointment of assessors

Appeals
17 Appeals against land value tax decisions

PART 3
GENERAL
18 Commencement
19 Short title

Schedule 1—Exempt land

Schedule 2—Reliefs from land value tax
Land Value Tax (Scotland) Bill iii
Land Value Tax (Scotland) Act 2018 1

MODEL
SCOTTISH PARLIAMENT

Land Value Tax (Scotland) Bill

SP Bill 66

(as introduced)

An Act of the Scottish Parliament to make provision about the taxation of land; to abolish council
tax and non-domestic rates; and for connected purposes.

PART 1
ABOLITION OF PREVIOUS TAXES

1 Abolition of council tax and non-domestic rates

No person is liable to pay, in respect of any day after the day this section comes into force—
(a) any council tax provided for by the Local Government Finance Act 1992, or
(b) any non-domestic rate provided for by the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1975.

2 Report on the operation of this Part

The Scottish Ministers must, when section 1 comes into force, lay before the Scottish
Parliament a report detailing the consequences the operation of that section is likely to
have on the finances of local authorities and the Scottish Administration.

3 Repeals and saving

(1) On the day after the day this section comes into force, the following enactments are
repealed—
(a) Parts 1 to 3 of the Valuation and Rating (Scotland) Act 1956;
(b) Part 2 of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1966;
(c) sections 1 to 11 of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1975;
(d) Part 2 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992;
(e) sections 26 to 30 of the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994;
(f) sections 5 to 8 of the Local Government and Rating Act 1997;
(g) Part 5 of the Local Government in Scotland Act 2003;
(h) in section 7 of the Local Government (Boundaries and Special Powers) (Scotland)
Act 2017, subsections (2) and (3);
(i) the Non-Domestic Rates (Independent Schools) (Scotland) Act 2018.
2 Land Value Tax (Scotland) Act 2018

(2) Nothing in this section affects—

(a) the operation of an enactment repealed by subsection (1) in respect of the day this
section comes into force or a day before that day,
(b) any amendment, repeal, or modification made by an enactment repealed by this
section.

PART 2
LAND VALUE TAX

Introductory

4 Land value tax

(1) A tax (known as land value tax) is to be charged on land.
(2) A local authority is responsible for the collection and management of the tax in its area.

Core provisions

5 Lands subject to tax

(1) Land value tax is to be levied on all lands in the area of a local authority, but not on land
which falls within any description in schedule 1 (“exempt land”).
(2) It is the duty of the local authority to identify all exempt land within its area.

6 Rate of land value tax

(1) A local authority must, for the financial year 2019-20 and each subsequent financial year,
set the proportion (known as the poundage for that local authority’s area) of the value of
land to be payable as land value tax.
(2) A poundage must be expressed as a number of pence per pound of the value of land.
(3) A poundage may be prescribed in respect of more than one financial year.
(4) A poundage must equal or exceed 1.5 pence and must not exceed 4.5 pence.
(5) A local authority must set the poundage for its area before 11 March in the financial year
preceding the year for which the poundage is set (but it is not invalid merely because it is
set on or after that date).

7 Liability for land value tax

The person who is liable for amounts of land value tax payable in respect of land for a day
is the person who was the owner of the land on that day.

8 Amounts of tax payable

(1) Liability for land value tax is to be calculated on a daily basis.
(2) In so calculating liability, it is to be assumed that the state of affairs that exists at the end
of a day had existed throughout the day.
(3) The amount of land value tax payable in respect of land for a day is to be calculated in
Land Value Tax (Scotland) Act 2018 3

accordance with the following formula—

P LV
×
100 D
where—
P is the poundage in pence set for the financial year by the local authority for the area
in which the land is situate or, if a different poundage is payable in relation to the
land by virtue of section 9, 10, or 11, that poundage;
LV is the value of the land on that day;
D is the number of days in the financial year.
(4) The amount of land value tax for which a person is liable is payable in monthly instalments,
each of which is to be made on the last day in each month.
(5) But nothing in subsection (4) prevents a local authority from entering into an agreement
with a person for that person to make payments in another manner.

Other rates of land value tax

9 Relief from land value tax

(1) The table in schedule 2 sets out—
(a) in column 1, descriptions of land which is eligible for relief from land value tax;
(b) in column 2, the percentage relief for which such land is eligible.
(2) A person who is liable to pay land value tax may apply to the local authority for relief in
relation to such of the person’s lands as are specified in the application.
(3) An application must—
(a) identify the description or descriptions under which the applicant considers each
area of land falls, and
(b) be made in such manner as the local authority may reasonably require.
(4) If the local authority is satisfied that an area of land falls under one or more of those
descriptions, the authority must grant relief and notify the applicant of the relief it has granted.
(5) Where relief is granted in relation to land, the poundage payable in relation to the land is
reduced by—
(a) if the local authority is satisfied that the land falls under only one description, the
percentage relief corresponding to that description;
(b) if the authority is satisfied that the land falls under two or more descriptions, the
greatest of the percentage reliefs corresponding to those descriptions.

10 Power of local authority to provide land value tax relief

(1) A person who is liable to pay land value tax may apply to the local authority for relief and
the local authority may, if it thinks fit, reduce or fix at nil the poundage payable in relation
to such of the person’s lands as are specified in the application.
(2) Before exercising its power under this section, the local authority must have regard to—
(a) any hardship to which paying land value tax may subject the person,
(b) the authority’s expenditure and income,
(c) the interests of persons liable to pay land value tax to the authority, and
4 Land Value Tax (Scotland) Act 2018

(d) the relief it has previously provided under this section.

11 Power of Scottish Ministers to prescribe other rates of tax

(1) The Scottish Ministers may by regulations provide for the poundage payable in respect of
any land to be determined in accordance with rules prescribed in such regulations.
(2) Regulations made under this section may be made in respect of any financial year.
(3) Rules prescribed under this section may—
(a) be framed by reference to such factors as the Scottish Ministers consider appropriate
and those factors may, in particular, include the circumstances of persons who are
liable to pay land value tax,
(b) make different provision in relation to different areas and different classes of land,
(c) make different provision in relation to land based on the value of that land.
(4) Regulations under this section may not provide for any poundage to be less than nil.
(5) Regulations under this section are subject to the negative procedure.

Valuation

12 Valuation lists
(1) The assessor for each local authority area must compile and maintain a list (known as the
valuation list) for that area in accordance with this section.
(2) A valuation list must show, for each day it is in force—
(a) each area of land situated within the local authority area,
(b) the value of that land, and
(c) such other information as may be required under an enactment.
(3) An omission from a list of anything that is required to be in the list does not render the list
invalid so far as anything else contained in the list is concerned.
(4) No rule as to Crown exemption prevents a list from showing any land or other information.
(5) In this Act, unless the context requires otherwise—
(a) a reference to land is a reference to an area of land shown in the valuation list for a local
authority area that is, for the time being, in force (and “lands” is to be read accordingly);
(b) a reference to the value of land is to the value shown for that land in the valuation
list for a local authority area that is, for the time being, in force.

13 Compilation and updating of valuation lists

(1) A valuation list must be compiled for each local authority area on the day this section comes
into force and that list comes into force on that day.
(2) A subsequent valuation list must be compiled for each local authority area on 1 April each
year, and that list is to come into force on that day and supersede any prior list.
(3) If a local authority considers it necessary or desirable in connection with the operation of
section 9 or 11, it may direct the assessor for its area to reconsider how the assessor has
divided its area (or a part of its area) and the assessor may—
(a) revise the valuation list so as to—
(i) merge one or more lands into a single area of land or revise the boundaries
or extents of lands; and
Land Value Tax (Scotland) Act 2018 5

(ii) reflect the value of the lands as merged or revised, or

(b) notify the local authority that the assessor does not intend to revise the list.
(4) The assessor for a local authority area must send a copy of each list compiled (or, as the
case may be, revised) under this section to—
(a) the local authority for the area, and
(b) the Keeper of the Records of Scotland, for the Keeper to preserve.

14 Inspection, etc. of valuation lists

(1) A local authority must not make a valuation list available for public inspection.
(2) A local authority must, during reasonable hours at the request of a person who is liable to
pay land value tax to the authority, send or make available to the person a copy of each entry
in the valuation list relating to lands in relation to which the person is liable.
(3) Where an entry in a valuation list is modified, the local authority must send notice to the
person liable to pay land value tax in relation to the land shown in the entry.
(4) The notice must state—
(a) the nature of the modification, and
(b) the implications of the modification on the person’s liability for land value tax.

15 Valuation of areas of land

(1) The value of an area of land shown in a valuation list is to be determined in accordance
with this section.
(2) For the purpose of valuing land, the assessor must divide their area based on—
(a) the ownership of areas of land,
(b) the use or application of those areas, and
(c) such other factors as the Scottish Ministers may by regulations specify.
(3) Each division is to be an area of land shown in a valuation list.
(4) In dividing their area on the basis of use or application, the assessor must have regard to
the desirability of determining whether a different poundage is payable in relation to the
land by virtue of section 9 or 11.
(5) The value of the land is the price the land might reasonably be expected to achieve in a
sale on the open market.
(6) In determining that value, the value of any fixtures on the land is to be disregarded.
(7) Regulations under this section are subject to the negative procedure.
(8) In this section—
“assessor” means the assessor for a local authority area (and a reference to the assessor’s
area is a reference to that local authority area);
“fixture”, in relation to land, means any heritable property (other than the land itself) and
includes any such heritable property which is included in the definition of “lands
and heritages” in section 42 of the Lands Valuation (Scotland) Act 1854.

16 Appointment of assessors
(1) A local authority must appoint for its area—
(a) an assessor, and
6 Land Value Tax (Scotland) Act 2018

(b) so many depute assessors as the authority considers necessary for the purposes of
the Valuation Acts.
(2) The Scottish Ministers must by regulations prescribe the qualifications necessary for a
person to be appointed an assessor or depute assessor.
(3) A local authority must not appoint a person as an assessor or depute assessor unless the
authority is satisfied that the person holds the qualifications prescribed.
(4) A depute assessor for an area has and may exercise all functions of an assessor for that area.
(5) Despite the repeal of section 27(3) of the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994, an
order made under that section continues to have effect on and after the day this section
comes into force as if the order were made under subsection (2) (and accordingly the power
under subsection (2) includes the power to revoke or modify such orders).
(6) An assessor or depute assessor holds office at the pleasure of the authority, but must not
be removed (or required to resign) without the consent of the Scottish Ministers.
(7) Regulations under this section are subject to the negative procedure.
(8) In this Act, a reference to the assessor for a local authority area is a reference to the assessor
appointed by the local authority for that area under this section.
(9) In this section, “Valuation Acts” has the meaning given in section 183(1) of the Local
Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994.

Appeals

17 Appeals against land value tax decisions

(1) A person who is aggrieved by a relevant land value tax decision may appeal against the
decision to the Lands Tribunal for Scotland.
(2) A relevant land value tax decision is—
(a) a decision of a local authority not to grant relief under section 9 or 11;
(b) a decision of an assessor to revise, or not to revise, a valuation list under section 13;
(c) a division of land into areas under section 15;
(d) a valuation made by an assessor under section 15.

PART 3
GENERAL

18 Commencement
(1) This Part comes into force on the day after Royal Assent.
(2) The Scottish Ministers may by regulations bring into force the remaining provisions.
(3) Different provisions may be brought into force at different times.

19 Short title
The short title of this Act is the Land Value Tax (Scotland) Act 2018.
Land Value Tax (Scotland) Act 2018 7

SCHEDULE 1
EXEMPT LAND

Crown land

1 Land owned or held in trust by—

(a) the Scottish Ministers,
(b) the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body,
(c) a Minister of the Crown,
(d) the Corporate Officer of the House of Lords,
(e) the Corporate Officer of the House of Commons,
(f) a Northern Ireland department,
(g) the Northern Ireland Assembly Commission,
(h) the Welsh Ministers, the First Minister for Wales, or the Counsel General to the
Welsh Assembly Government,
(i) the National Assembly for Wales Commission,
(j) the National Assembly for Wales.

Public service land

2 Land owned by a local authority.

3 Land owned by—

(a) a Health Board or Special Health Board constituted under section 2 of the National
Health Service (Scotland) Act 1978 (“the 1978 Act”),
(b) the Common Services Agency constituted under section 10 of the 1978 Act,
(c) Healthcare Improvement Scotland,
(d) the Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland.

4 Land owned by an integration joint board established pursuant to an integration scheme

prepared under Part 1 of the Public Bodies (Joint Working) (Scotland) Act 2014.

5 Land owned by the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service.

6 Land owned by the Scottish Police Authority.

8 Land Value Tax (Scotland) Act 2018

SCHEDULE 2
RELIEFS FROM LAND VALUE TAX

Descriptions of land eligible for relief Percentage relief

1. Land owned by or on behalf of a Member of Parliament or 100%
a Member of the Scottish Parliament and used solely in
connection with their Parliamentary duties.
2. Land used primarily for arable farming. 100%
3. Land owned or used primarily by a body entered into the 50%
Scottish Charity Register.