New international data has laid bare just how broken Britain’s property tax system has become.

According to the 2025 International Tax Competitiveness Index from the Tax Foundation, the UK now ranks 37th out of 38 OECD countries for property taxes – the second worst in the developed world, behind only Italy.

A tax system holding Britain back

The report highlights how the UK’s property tax system distorts investment and productivity by taxing homes and buildings through outdated valuations and inefficient structures. Homeowners and businesses face higher bills not because their properties are improving but because the system fails to reflect real, up-to-date values fairly across the country.

This broken design discourages mobility and deepens regional inequalities. By contrast, countries like Estonia and Australia, which have reformed their systems to make property taxation more transparent and consistent, rank top globally for property tax design.

The heaviest property tax burden in the OECD

The UK also places the heaviest property tax burden in the OECD, collecting 2.6% of the country’s private capital stock through property taxes – far higher than the next-closest nations, the United States (1.8%) and Canada (1.6%).

That means British households and businesses are paying more through inefficient property taxes than almost anywhere else in the developed world.

A clear case for reform

Fairer Share has long argued that Britain’s property tax system – still based on 1991 house prices – is outdated, unfair and economically damaging. Families in modest homes in towns like Blackpool and Sunderland are paying far more than people in multi-million pound properties in London and the South East.

The Tax Foundation’s findings back up what millions of households already know: Britain’s property tax system is failing.

Replacing Council Tax and Stamp Duty with a simple Proportional Property Tax would create a fairer, more efficient system that supports local government, encourages investment, and boosts regional growth.

It’s time to fix Britain’s broken property tax system and make sure every household pays their fair share, based on what their home is really worth today.