English: I often think that, if finding an alternative funding mechanism for local government was easy, it would have been done a very long time ago. And I think that that's something that we perhaps need to give great thought to. I remember when the aggregate external finance replaced the rate support grant following the centralisation of business rates to balance up income in those authorities that had the least ability to raise local tax. The distribution of properties in each band varies enormously and, whilst some authorities have over half their properties in the lowest two bands others, notably Monmouth, have over half their properties in band D and above. We would thus expect the councils to get the largest Welsh Government support per capita to be Blaenau Gwent, Merthyr and Rhondda Cynon Taf and the three lowest per capita to be Cardiff, Vale of Glamorgan and Monmouth, and that's what we effectively get. We know that council tax hits the poorest households particularly hard, with low earners paying an average of 7 per cent of their income in council tax, whilst the wealthiest households pay only 1.5 per cent. On council tax, I have the following suggestions: I would suggest a band J at £1 million, a band K at £5 million and a band L at £10 million. This would mean that those in very expensive properties would pay substantially more. An alternative reform would be a mansion tax surcharge of, say, 1 per cent on the value of properties worth over £1 million or £2 million, 2 per cent on £2 million and 3 per cent on those properties worth over £3 million. Will the Minister consider these suggestions? On local income tax, while appearing to be a fairer system, income tax, like corporation tax, is easily avoided, and often is. Non-domiciled people owning mansions in Wales could end up paying nothing. It would shift the balance of payment on to those on lower and middle incomes. I would urge the Minister to rule out a local income tax because it will be the middle-income people who'll be paying for those who are capable of avoiding paying tax on huge sums of income. Something we talk about regularly, and I thought Siân Gwenllian would have raised it today, is: can we remove small business rate relief from flats and houses, to remove the incentive to move them from being holiday homes into being businesses? My view is that there's no good reason to keep on giving them rate relief. Our land value tax has a lot of benefits but if you use that to replace council tax, you'd have no social housing in some of the most expensive land areas. People would not be able to afford to pay the council tax on those properties in the areas where we've got very high land values; I know you've got those in your own constituency, Minister. So, I think that what you'd end up with, by default because of a decision, is that in those more affluent areas and very affluent areas where land values are well in excess of £1 million an acre, you would have no social housing whatsoever. So, I think that a lot of these things need investigating, but I think sometimes the downside of some of these needs to be looked at, or why we are where we are now.
Welsh: Rwyf yn aml yn meddwl, petai dod o hyd i fecanwaith ariannu arall ar gyfer Llywodraeth Leol yn hawdd, byddai hynny wedi cael ei wneud amser maith yn ôl. Ac rwy'n credu bod hynny'n rhywbeth y mae angen efallai inni ei ystyried yn ofalus. Rwy'n cofio pan ddisodlodd y cyllid allanol cyfun y grant cynnal ardrethi ar ôl canoli ardrethi busnes i gydbwyso incwm yn yr awdurdodau hynny a oedd â'r gallu lleiaf i godi treth leol. Mae dosbarthiad yr eiddo ym mhob band yn amrywio'n fawr ac, er bod gan rai awdurdodau dros hanner eu heiddo yn y ddau fand isaf, mae gan eraill, yn arbennig Trefynwy, dros hanner eu heiddo ym mand D ac yn uwch. Felly byddem ni'n disgwyl mai'r cynghorau a fydd yn cael y cymorth mwyaf y pen gan Lywodraeth Cymru fydd Blaenau Gwent, Merthyr Tudful a Rhondda Cynon Taf a'r tri y bydd yn cael y cymorth lleiaf y pen fydd Caerdydd, Bro Morgannwg a Mynwy, a dyna'r hyn yr ydym ni'n ei gael i bob pwrpas. Rydym ni'n gwybod bod y dreth gyngor yn taro'r aelwydydd tlotaf yn arbennig o galed, gyda rhai ar gyflogau isel yn talu cyfartaledd o 7 y cant o'u hincwm mewn treth gyngor, tra bod y cartrefi cyfoethocaf yn talu 1.5 y cant yn unig. O ran y dreth gyngor, mae gennyf i'r awgrymiadau canlynol: byddwn i'n awgrymu band J yn £1 miliwn band K yn £5 miliwn a band L yn £10 miliwn. Byddai hyn yn golygu y byddai'r rhai mewn eiddo drud iawn yn talu llawer mwy. Diwygiad arall fyddai gordal treth plasty, dyweder, o 1 y cant ar eiddo sy'n werth dros £1 miliwn neu £2 miliwn, 2 y cant ar £2 miliwn a 3 y cant ar yr eiddo hynny sy'n werth mwy na £3 miliwn. A wnaiff y Gweinidog ystyried yr awgrymiadau hyn? O ran treth incwm lleol, er ei bod yn ymddangos yn system decach, mae treth incwm, fel treth gorfforaeth, yn hawdd i'w hosgoi, a dyna sy'n digwydd yn aml. Gallai pobl nad ydyn nhw'n hanu o Gymru sy'n berchen ar blastai yng Nghymru dalu dim. Byddai'n trosglwyddo'r cydbwysedd talu i'r rhai sydd ar incwm is a chanolig. Rwy'n annog y Gweinidog i ddiystyru treth incwm lleol oherwydd y bobl ag incwm canolig a fydd yn talu am y rhai sy'n gallu osgoi talu treth ar symiau enfawr o incwm. Rhywbeth rydym ni'n siarad amdano yn rheolaidd, ac roeddwn i " n meddwl y byddai Siân Gwenllian wedi ei chodi heddiw, yw: a allwn ni ddileu rhyddhad ardrethi i fusnesau bach o fflatiau a thai, i gael gwared ar y cymhelliad i'w troi o fod yn gartrefi gwyliau i fod yn fusnesau? Yn fy marn i, nid oes rheswm da dros barhau i roi rhyddhad ardrethi iddyn nhw. Mae gan ein treth ar werth tir lawer o fanteision ond os defnyddiwch chi hynny i ddisodli'r dreth gyngor, ni fyddai gennych chi unrhyw dai cymdeithasol yn rhai o'r ardaloedd lle mae tir yn ddrutaf. Ni fyddai pobl yn gallu fforddio talu'r dreth gyngor ar yr eiddo hynny yn yr ardaloedd lle mae gennym ni werthoedd tir uchel iawn; rwy'n gwybod fod gennych chi dir o'r fath yn eich etholaeth eich hun, Gweinidog. Felly, rwy'n credu mai'r hyn y byddech chi'n ei gael yn y pen draw, yn ddiofyn, o ganlyniad i benderfyniad, yw, yn yr ardaloedd mwy cefnog hynny ac ardaloedd cefnog iawn lle mae gwerth tir ymhell dros £1 miliwn yr erw, ni fyddai gennych chi unrhyw dai cymdeithasol o gwbl. Felly, rwy'n credu bod angen ymchwilio i lawer o'r pethau hyn, ond rwy'n credu weithiau fod yn rhaid ystyried rhai o anfanteision yr anghenion hyn, neu pam rydym ni yn y sefyllfa yr ydym ni ynddi nawr.