My hon. Friend makes an impassioned case for the impact that the current economic situation is having on different parts of the country. Looking at the levels of taxation and of property values that will be affected serves to highlight further the disparities up and down the country. The Government must take seriously the opportunity to deal with that imbalance by ensuring that those in the most expensive and valuable properties in the country pay their share in bringing down the deficit, and that those on the lowest incomes receive additional support. We know that households are struggling to make ends meet as wages stagnate or fall, and the cost of living continues to rise. That position is borne out in the current devastating unemployment figures; every job lost is a personal tragedy for every person affected. We must always bear in mind in our discussions that, without doubt, some parts of the country are much more affected than others.

I put it to the Minister that if the Government are serious about reforming the taxation system to make it fairer, why do they insist on limiting the annual charge to properties that are held in some legal structures, but not others? Members of the public would probably question why the Government are limiting it in that way, because they would wonder why the same charge was not levied on all high-value properties, no matter how they were held. It is unfair that millions of people on middle or low incomes cannot even get on the housing ladder, while millionaire investors are holding properties personally, directly or through trusts to escape the annual charge.

It is useful to examine the details of the tax. Our proposal is entirely feasible, and it is for the Government to make the case for why they are not including all properties of more than £2 million. I hope that Liberal Democrat Members, in particular, will support our reasonable proposal that at least an assessment is made of how the structure could be applied to all properties worth more than £2 million.