Addressing the CBI annual dinner last night, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Alistair Darling said: "A few years ago, one of our airlines used to say, 'We never forget you have a choice'. Today, governments should remember that. Business does have a choice. Business is increasingly mobile. "Tax rates have to be globally competitive. I am determined that British business will not be the fiscal fall guy. Business is the linchpin of the British economy. We need to ensure that the tax system is competitive and predictable, as well as ensuring that the business environment is attractive to increasingly mobile businesses." Good. So what is he going to do about it? There is no need to tax businesses at all. The tax can be shifted on to land instead - an ad valorem tax on the assessed rental value of land. Taking the tax off business is the most competitive thing any Chancellor could do. The ultimate in competitiveness, in fact. And the act would in itself raise land va...
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