Routledge Dictionary of Economics, Second Edition
A tax on non-agricultural property long used in the UK to finance local government expenditure. Periodically, property was revalued on the basis of the expected rental income from property of that type to calculate its rateable value. Each local authority decided, knowing the total rateable value of all properties in its area, what rate in the pound must be levied to obtain a desired level of revenue. Each property owner paid an amount equal to the rateable value of the property times the rate in the pound.
As such local taxation has long been condemned for being full of anomalies, many proposals for reforming it have been made. In 1989 in Scotland and in 1990 in England and Wales, the domestic rate was replaced by the COMMUNITY CHARGE (nicknamed ‘the poll tax’); in 1990, the UNIFORM BUSINESS RATE replaced business rates.
References
Foster, C.D., Jackman, R.A. and Perlman, M. (1980) Local Government Finance in a Unitary State, London: Allen & Unwin.
Layfield Committee (1976) Local Govern ment Finance. Report on the Committee of Inquiry, London: HMSO, Cmnd 6453.
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