In any society, the question of taxation is a crucial one. How should we distribute the burden of funding public services and infrastructure?

This week in Parliament, there will be an opportunity to make the case for a Proportional Property Tax. Due to the HS2 Bill Committee, I cannot attend the debate. However, I want to make my support clear and highlight the recent film I have done with the Fairer Share Campaign.

Council Tax is broken; we all know it. Every year, our bills increase, but in return, our public services are cut. The government policy of cutting central grants and raising more revenues locally penalises our poorest communities with higher taxes. Higher demand for costly, resource-intensive services like looked-after children and adult social care places additional pressures on already overstretched council budgets in the poorest communities.

For a long time, I could see the problem but had no meaningful proposals to fix it. That was until I met Andrew Dixon, the founder of the Fairer Share Campaign, who presented a simple solution: a Proportional Property Tax.

A Proportional Property Tax is rooted in the principles of fairness and equity. By taxing properties based on their assessed value, it ensures that those with higher-valued properties contribute proportionally more towards public services and infrastructure. This approach aligns with the concept of progressive taxation, where individuals with the greatest means shoulder a larger share of the tax burden. It promotes a more just society where the distribution of wealth is more balanced.

The government claims to support these aims and has introduced a series of Levelling Up Funding competitions, in which areas apply and compete for a limited pool of funding. While this helps successful areas secure short-term one-off funding, areas of greatest need, such as County Durham, lost out in the latest round, with ministers rejecting five proposals.

These government gimmicks are short-term publicity-seeking sticking plaster policies. What we needed is long-term and sustained reform, fairer taxes, and more public investment. Instead, we are presented with a Levelling Up lie, which despite the rhetoric, is accelerating economic divisions within our country.

A Proportional Property Tax can begin the process of rebalancing our economy, lowering taxes in areas like East Durham, which are in need of investment. A Proportional Property tax set at 0.48% of property value would effectively be a £6.5 billion a year economic stimulus to UK regional economies. That is the difference between the amount regional communities pay in Council Tax compared to a Proportional Property Tax.

This is money in your pocket. In East Durham, every household would see a reduction in their tax bill. The average saving would be £900 a year, providing a much-needed boost to family finances during a cost-of-living crisis.

We need to get serious about our economy, taxes, and fairness. On our current course, the country will continue on a path of widening economic inequality that limits hope and opportunities. A Proportional Property Tax will not right the wrongs of recent decades, but it will show that we are serious about creating an inclusive economy and are willing to take the action needed to remove the barriers that are stopping success and opportunity from spreading in our country.