London is one of the world’s leading cities. It and its hinterland are comparable with the New York-New Jersey region and the Paris agglomeration. It has a powerful and developed political class and system of government. Yet its access to the taxes paid by its residents and businesses is on a par with a small rural municipality. This needs to change.

作为世界主要城市之一，伦敦及其腹地可与纽约-新泽西地区以及巴黎都会区比肩。它拥有强大而发达的政治阶层和政府体系。但它拥有的税权，却仅与一个小型乡村自治市相当。这种局面必须改变。

London is out of line with other cities in having access to only a single, capped, tax. New York, Paris, Berlin and Tokyo, among others, have a far wider tax base and more freedom to set rates. In 2012-13, just 5 per cent of all taxes paid in London were collected by the city’s government. The remaining 95 per cent went to the UK Treasury. A modest reform to business taxation in April this year adjusts these figures to 7 per cent and 93 per cent respectively. London’s politicians have severely restricted access to the taxation paid by their citizens.

伦敦的地方税只有一种、且设置了上限，这与其他城市很不一样。纽约、巴黎、柏林和东京等城市则拥有广泛得多的税基，在设定税率方面也有更大的自由。2012-13年，伦敦居民和企业缴纳的所有税金中，只有5%归伦敦市政府所有，其余95%则归英国财政部(UK Treasury)。今年4月，英国企业税制的小幅改革使得上述比例分别调整至7%和93%。在伦敦居民缴纳的税金中，可供伦敦政界人士动用的只是极其有限的一部分。

Devolution to Scotland and Wales has provided a political dynamic that has led to pressures for a transfer of taxation powers to Edinburgh and Cardiff. Scotland will introduce locally-determined income tax in 2016, to join the land transaction and landfill taxes of the previous year. Wales is bidding for similar tax autonomy. Yesterday’s report from the London Finance Commission (LFC), which was asked by Boris Johnson, London’s major, to analyse the city’s fiscal position, found no evidence that devolution had damaged the economic progress of Scotland or Wales. Indeed, the practicalities of establishing the Scottish tax regime suggest there are no insuperable obstacles to the devolution of tax powers to any part of the UK.

向苏格兰和威尔士下放权力引发了一个政治动态，促使人们纷纷要求将税权移交给爱丁堡和加的夫。苏格兰将于2015年出台由本地决定的土地交易税和垃圾填埋税，随后将在2016年出台由本地决定的所得税。威尔士正在争取类似的税收自主权。应伦敦市长鲍里斯•约翰逊(Boris Johnson)要求，伦敦金融委员会(LFC)分析了伦敦市的财政状况，并于近日发布了报告。报告称，没有任何证据显示，权力下放对苏格兰和威尔士的经济发展造成了伤害。实际上，确立苏格兰税制的实践表明，将税权下放给英国的任何一部分都不存在不可逾越的障碍。

It is easy to assume that England’s centralised democracy is the only possible arrangement. Existing Whitehall departments would certainly find their powers reduced if London assumed greater autonomy over fiscal policy and public services. Sub-national governments in London and other British cities have been infantilised by a long-term move over many decades to centralise public finance and tax-raising. The mayor and the borough councils currently rely on the Exchequer to collect and redistribute almost all of the taxation paid in the city. As a result, there is an endless requirement for the city’s rulers to negotiate to get their own area’s money back.

人们往往会认为，英格兰的集中式民主是唯一可能的安排。如果伦敦在财政政策、公共服务方面拥有更大的自主权，白厅(Whitehall，指英国政府)现有部门的权力肯定会削弱。受数十年来将公共财政和征税权上交中央的长期行动的影响，伦敦和其他英国城市的地方政府变成了一个长不大的孩子。如今，伦敦市长和伦敦各区议会要依靠英国财政部来征收和再分配这座城市的几乎所有税金。因此，伦敦的管理者面临着一个无休止的任务，那就是与中央展开协商，要回本市缴纳的税金。

Looking ahead, London’s population is projected to rise from 8.4m today to 9m in 2020 and 10m in 2030. Such rapid growth will require major investment in housing, transport and schools. Moreover, the UK government is hoping that local areas will encourage economic growth through the business rate retention reform introduced in April. The LFC concluded that the need to accommodate population growth, allied to the need for incentives for a more productive economy, pointed in the direction of a wider tax base for London government.

展望未来，预计2020年时伦敦人口将从今天的840万增加到900万，2030年达到1000万。这种快速增长需要在住房、交通、学校方面进行大规模投资。此外，英国政府希望各地能借助今年4月出台的商业房产税留存改革(business rate retention reform)鼓励经济增长。伦敦金融委员会得出结论认为，为了适应人口的增长以及为提高经济生产率提供激励，伦敦政府有必要扩大税基。

Such an expanded tax base would allow increased borrowing, which would then make it possible to build the infrastructure required to secure the city’s growth. Investment in rail, housing and other capital would, in turn, produce higher tax revenues and thus additional investment.

税基扩大后，就能增加借贷，建设伦敦发展所必需的基础设施也就具备了可行性。铁路、住房以及其他资本性投资反过来又会带来更高的税收收入，催生进一步的投资。

The commission examined the full range of UK taxation and concluded that income tax, VAT, corporation tax and many other revenues would not be appropriate for devolution to London in the short term. There is little chance of such a radical option being adopted in a single step by any UK chancellor. But property taxes were judged to be a more promising option. The LFC has proposed that the full suite of such taxes – council tax, non-domestic rates and stamp duty land tax – be devolved to London. In order to ensure the rest of the country was not made worse off, there would be a pound-for-pound reduction in central government grants to London. Tourism and environmental taxes could also be introduced.

伦敦金融委员会全方位地分析了英国的税收，并得出结论认为，短期内还不宜将所得税、增值税、公司税以及诸多其他税种的税权下放给伦敦。任何一位英国财政大臣都不太可能一下子采纳这么极端的选择。不过，房产税被认为是一个更好的选择。伦敦金融委员会已经提议，将包括地方议会税(council tax)、商业房产税(non-domestic rates)和土地印花税(stamp duty land tax)在内的一整套房产税的税权都下放给伦敦。为了确保英国其余地区的福祉不会因此受到负面影响，中央政府应相应减少对伦敦的补贴。另外还可出台旅游税和环境税。

London is not and will not become a city state. But it should have a far greater degree of self-determination and thus be better governed. If things went well, provision would be more efficient and more locally-sensitive. There would be more investment. Other English cities could be allowed to follow the same path. The LFC’s proposals are modest but could produce radical results. This is surely a reform worth making.

伦敦不是也不会成为一个城市国家。但它应该享有更大程度的自决权，从而实现更好的治理。如果一切顺利的话，供给将会变得更有效、对本地需求更为敏感。投资则会增加。另外也可允许其他英国城市遵循同样的路径。伦敦金融委员会的提议是温和的，但其导致的结果却可能是革命性的。这确实是一个值得实施的改革。