Building Safety Fund (2) – Parliamentary Written Answer

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether the Government plans to recoup the costs of the Building Safety Fund from residential property developers.

Christopher Pincher: as announced on 10 February 2021, we are going to introduce a developer levy through the Building Safety Bill to be targeted and applied when developers seek permission to develop certain high-rise buildings in England. In addition, we will introduce a new tax for the UK residential property development sector in 2022. The levy and tax will ensure that the largest property developers make a fair contribution to the remediation programme. The Government will consult on the policy design of the tax in due course.

http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2021-02-11/153224

May Acts To Tackle Housing Crisis By Imposing Levy On Foreign Buyers

Foreign buyers of properties in the UK will have to pay a new levy, in a renewed attempt by Theresa May to tackle the housing crisis. With concern growing among senior Tories that the party has allowed Brexit to drown out a compelling domestic agenda, plans unveiled on Saturday night will see foreign buyers pay extra stamp duty to fund a drive to tackle rough sleeping. Read more on the Observer website.

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/sep/29/theresa-may-slaps-new-property-tax-on-foreign-buyers

Labour Plans £560m A Year Levy On Holiday Homes

Labour has announced new plans to introduce a levy on second properties used as holiday homes, in a bid to tackle homelessness. Under the plans, the holiday homes would face an average annual bill of around £3,200, meaning the estimated 174,000 properties used for this purpose in England could generate up to £560m a year. The new levy would be based on a property’s council tax band and represent a doubling of its council tax bill. Labour stressed that the new levy would only be applicable to second homes primarily used as holiday houses, and would not include homes that are rented or used for employment, or static caravans. Read more on the propertyreporter website.

http://www.propertyreporter.co.uk/property/labour-plans-560m-a-year-levy-on-holiday-homes.html    

Hammond Urged Not To Launch "Tax Attack" On Second Home Owners

Philip Hammond has been warned against hiking levies on buy-to-let properties over fears the move would result in lower revenues for the Treasury. Two former Conservative cabinet ministers criticised reported plans for an increase in the government levy charged on buy-to-let purchases, which are said to be under consideration for the autumn Budget. John Redwood, the former trade secretary said: “There is no need to increase taxes and if you carry on increasing them you'll collect less money from people, which is the opposite of what we want to achieve.” “The answer for the Treasury is cut stamp duty and you’ll raise more money.” Read more on the Daily Telegraph website.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/08/04/hammond-urged-not-launch-tax-attack-second-home-owners-new-buy/

Government Review Warns Of 'Inexorable Decline' In Construction

The British construction industry faces “inexorable decline” unless radical action is taken to modernise it, a government review has found. The Farmer Review of the UK Construction Labour Model, commissioned jointly by the CLG and the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy, has published a damning verdict on the sector. Its most radical proposal for change was the introduction of a ‘levy’ on schemes, which charges additional tax of up to 0.5% of the scheme’s value if it does not support innovation or training. The report slammed the construction sector’s “dysfunctional training model, and its lack of innovation and collaboration, as well as its non-existent research and development culture”. Download the report from the CLG website.

Delay Likely On Key Housing Act Regulations

Publication of the Higher Value and Pay to Stay Regulations is likely to be delayed. CLG had expected the Regulations and Guidance to have been available this month (July) but could give no firm date by when local authorities could expect to see them indicating that a decision on the Regulations and Determinations on the definition of higher value voids and RTB levy was now unlikely to be made until September this year - although there was a possibility that some information on the draft Determination may potentially be available for informal consultation beforehand.  With the regulations on higher value voids subject to scrutiny by both Houses of Parliament, timing is crucial. At this stage there is a possibility that the first payments from local authorities may not be levied until 2017/18 or later. Read more on the ARCH website.

Bill Change Expected To Further Limit RTB

Housing associations are expecting further restrictions on tenant eligibility for Right to Buy, due to the government’s cutting of a levy to pay for discounts. Parliament has passed a Housing and Planning Bill amendment which aims to limit council funds flowing out of London to pay for the Right to Buy extension elsewhere. Under the policy, councils will be forced to pay a levy based on a prior calculation of the value of their expensive, vacant housing stock. This week’s amendment means local authorities in London will be able to reduce this amount if they strike a deal with government to build two affordable homes for each home sold. Read more on Inside Housing.

Abolish Council Tax Bands, Argues Think Tank

Council tax bands should be abolished, giving local authorities the freedom to set their own flat rate levy, according to a report from a think tank. In Moving beyond Mansion Tax, CentreForum argues councils should be allowed to retain any revenue raised from homes valued at £2m or below to pay for local services. Any tax raised from homes worth more than £2m, would be distributed nationally under the plans. It argues this new system would make property tax fairer than the proposed Mansion Tax and would strengthen the links between taxpayers and local services. Read more on the LocalGov website.

Mansion Tax: Charging Foreign Buyers and Empty Houses More Would Raise Same Cash

Labour could generate the same amount of money by ditching the mansion tax and instead raising levies on empty houses, foreign buyers and buy-to-let landlords, a new report has found. Analysis by the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) found targeted taxation could raise more than £6 billion next parliament without hitting cash-strapped families. The findings call into question whether Labour’s plans to make people in houses worth more than £2 million pay more is the fairest way to boost revenues through property tax. Read more on the Daily Telegraph website.