My Lords, I support one of the main elements of the Bill of the noble Lord, Lord Marlesford—namely, the suggestion that the basis for taxing property should be the price at which it last changed hands. Where I depart from him is in agreeing with the noble Lord, Lord True, that it would not be practicable or fair for the Bill to apply to all properties bought from 2000, when the purchase price was entered in the register, because it would be unfair if two identical properties in the same street were taxed at different rates depending on whether they were bought before or after 2000. That would be tolerable for somebody who had bought the property since then with their eyes open. However, if I had bought a house before the change, I would not have known that and the difference between the tax on my house and that on the identical house next door would not be fair. Therefore, I conclude that the noble Lord, Lord True, is correct that the change proposed in the Bill could not fairly come into effect before the passing of the Act, so that people who buy properties in the future will know on what basis they are buying them and what liability they are entering into. As far as the noble Lord, Lord Marlesford, is concerned, that would delay the raising of the revenue and the application of the system that he has proposed. I realise that that is unwelcome. However, I do not think there is any other basis on which the measure can be brought into effect.
However, I agree with the noble Lord, Lord Marlesford, that a scheme based on the purchase price of properties in actual fact—which are now recorded in the register—would greatly ease the future administration of this tax. It would also get rid of the requirement for revaluations, which was always a problem with the local rates and would be a problem if the existing system was used and the bands were revalued. As I say, it would greatly reduce administration. So that is an idea that is well worth pursuing.
I agree with others that it will not be practicable for a Bill based on the idea proposed by the noble Lord, Lord Marlesford, to come into effect during this Session of Parliament. However, I hope very much that the Government will look at the basic idea of his Bill. It would have the advantage of dealing with a problem of the present council tax—namely, that it is not sufficiently progressive, and would raise the prospect over a period of giving more revenue to local authorities, which is greatly needed at this time. Therefore, it is an idea well worth working on.