A Georgist Critique of Scotland’s Land Reform Bill: What’s Missing and How We Can Fix It

Introduction: The Promise and Reality of the Land Reform Bill

Scotland’s Land Reform Bill has sparked debates across the nation, aiming to address issues of land ownership and use. While the bill sets out to tackle the concentration of land ownership and promote transparency, many believe it falls short in addressing the root causes of inequality and inefficiency in the current system. This article critically examines what’s missing from the Land Reform Bill and proposes solutions, including the introduction of Annual Ground Rent (AGR).

The Land Reform Bill: An Overview

The Land Reform Bill was designed to address the concentration of land ownership in Scotland, where a small number of individuals and entities control vast areas of land. The bill aims to make land ownership more transparent, improve the accountability of landowners, and ensure that land is used in ways that benefit local communities.

Key features of the bill include measures to diversify land ownership, promote sustainable development, and ensure that local communities have a say in land use decisions. However, despite these goals, the bill has been criticised for not going far enough to create a truly equitable system.

What’s Missing from the Land Reform Bill?

While the Land Reform Bill takes important steps toward more equitable land ownership, several critical issues remain unaddressed:

• Land Value Capture: The bill does not adequately address land value capture—ensuring that the increase in land value due to public investments benefits the community, not just private landowners. Without mechanisms like AGR, landowners continue to profit from community-driven increases in land value, exacerbating inequality.
• Speculation and Underutilisation: The bill does little to combat land speculation and the underutilisation of valuable land. Speculators who hold onto land without developing it or using it productively can still profit under the current system, leading to inefficiencies and contributing to housing shortages.
• Fairer Taxation: The Land Reform Bill misses an opportunity to introduce AGR, failing to tax the unimproved value of land. This allows landowners to continue benefiting disproportionately from public investments, without contributing their fair share.
• Community Empowerment: While the bill encourages community engagement, it lacks strong mechanisms to empower local communities to take control of land that is being underused or mismanaged. More robust tools are needed to ensure that communities can actively shape how land in their area is utilised.

How We Can Fix It: Introducing Annual Ground Rent (AGR)

To address these gaps, introducing Annual Ground Rent (AGR) could provide a powerful solution. Here’s how AGR can enhance the Land Reform Bill and promote a more just and efficient land system:

• Capturing Land Value for the Public Good: AGR ensures that the increase in land value resulting from public investments benefits the community as a whole. By taxing the unimproved value of land, AGR captures this value and redistributes it through public services and infrastructure, reducing the wealth gap and promoting economic equality.
• Discouraging Speculation and Encouraging Productive Use: AGR discourages landowners from holding onto land without using it. By taxing the value of the land itself, rather than any developments on it, AGR incentivises landowners to use land productively or make it available to others who will. This could help alleviate housing shortages and promote more sustainable land use.
• Fair and Efficient Taxation: AGR replaces inefficient taxes on labour and capital with a tax on land value, which is created by the community. This shift makes the tax system fairer, ensuring that those who benefit most from land pay their fair share while reducing the burden on working families.
• Empowering Communities: AGR can be used to fund local initiatives, empowering communities to take control of land in their areas. By redirecting revenue from AGR to community projects, local groups can gain the resources they need to manage land sustainably and in ways that directly benefit residents.

A Voice of Criticism: Andy Wightman’s Perspective

Andy Wightman, a well-known land reform advocate and former Member of the Scottish Parliament, has been one of the most vocal critics of the Land Reform Bill. In his detailed analysis, Wightman highlights that the bill falls short of its goals by failing to implement several key measures. These include the lack of a public interest test, inadequate land value capture mechanisms, and insufficient empowerment of communities in decision-making processes. Wightman also points out that many of the Scottish Government's past commitments, such as completing the Land Register and creating a Scottish Land Information System, remain unfulfilled, further undermining the bill’s effectiveness.

For an in-depth discussion on these issues, you can listen to Andy Wightman’s insightful podcast episode where he talks about the shortcomings of the latest Land Reform Bill. You can find it on Spotify here.

Additionally, you can read Andy Wightman’s detailed analysis of the Land Reform Bill on his website here.

Conclusion: Strengthening the Land Reform Bill

While the Land Reform Bill represents a step in the right direction, it fails to address some of the most pressing issues related to land ownership and use in Scotland. By introducing Annual Ground Rent (AGR), the bill could be significantly strengthened, helping to curb speculation, promote fairer taxation, and ensure that the benefits of land ownership are shared more equitably. As Scotland continues to grapple with the challenges of land reform, it is crucial that we push for policies that truly address the root causes of inequality and inefficiency.

Call to Action

Scotland’s land belongs to its people. To create a fairer, more just society, we must ensure that land is used in ways that benefit everyone, not just a privileged few. Annual Ground Rent offers a powerful tool to achieve this, but it requires bold action and strong advocacy. To learn more about the shortcomings of the Land Reform Bill and explore more radical solutions, visit Andy Wightman’s website and join the movement for true land reform in Scotland.

For further reading, you can also download a free eBook of Andy Wightman’s insightful book, The Poor Had No Lawyers: Who Owns Scotland (And How They Got It), here. Follow this series as we continue to explore transformative ideas for a fairer future.

This article was written with the assistance of ChatGPT.