Tax & Fiscal
With a total estimated value of around £5 trillion, or just over half of the total net worth of the UK, land is our most valuable asset. While 50% of the UK’s wealth is tied up in land and property, it only forms around 10% of the total tax base. In Scotland, just 12% of all public sector revenue across reserved and devolved taxes are raised through taxes fully or partially levied on land and property.
Land and property taxes have the potential to help achieve long term outcomes for land reform, such as diversification of land ownership, town centre regeneration, a just transition to net zero and supporting active farming.
We have been tasked with providing advice on how land can be factored into Scotland's economic thinking and to explore new policy levers that could shape land markets in a way that will help support recovery and build resilience, including tax and fiscal policies.
We have made recommendations to Scottish Ministers on how our land can be taxed better to support Scotland’s economic recovery and land reform objectives.
