Scrap Stamp Duty And Implement Annual Property Tax

A think tank wants the government to scrap stamp duty and replace it with an annual property tax based on capital value. Bright Blue says its tax commission - which it calls “cross party, cross sector” - recommends an annual proportionate property tax (APPT) on the current capital value of houses with a tax exemption for properties worth up to £50,000 and a 25 per cent surcharge for second home owners. Liability to pay would be with owners, not occupants. A single low tax threshold of initially £50,000 should be introduced, set to rise with house prices over time. Read more on Estate Agent Today.

Scrap Stamp Duty and implement annual property tax - ... (estateagenttoday.co.uk)

Labour’s ‘Land Grab’

A report - ‘Land for the Many’: Changing the way our fundamental asset is used, owned and governed - produced for the Labour Party sets out recommendations around an issue - land is the hidden issue behind the housing crisis - which has huge implications for people who want affordable homes. The report is not yet Labour policy. The key proposals include;

·         free and open access to data on land ownership

·         an explicit government goal to stabilise house prices

·         reforms to private renting with a cap on rent increases

·         replace council tax with a progressive property tax payable by owners not tenants – with surcharges for empty and second homes and non-UK residents

·         phase out stamp duty land tax

·         enable public bodies to buy land at closer to current use value

Read more on Red Brick.

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Property Taxes Need Overhaul To Reignite Housing Market

An overhaul of “outdated” property taxes could give the housing market a boost, surveyors have said. The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) argued a housing tax overhaul, including ending stamp duty on certain properties, could re-balance the market and reignite activity. It said the Government should look at what changes are needed to create a more vibrant property sector with a full-scale review of the stamp duty system - and “stamp out outdated housing taxes to help young people buy their own homes”. RICS said nearly half of professionals responding to its residential market survey feel a change in the tax system is needed to improve the situation for younger buyers in purchasing a home.

https://www.newsletter.co.uk/news/business/property-taxes-need-overhaul-to-reignite-housing-market-1-8639468

Capital Gains Tax On All Homes Needed

The government needs to implement a root-and-branch overhaul of the way housing is taxed and regulated to address the ‘crisis’ facing young people as they struggle to buy or rent property, a new book proposes. In addition to greatly increasing the supply of social housing, ministers should introduce a capital gains tax on the sale of all homes, carry out long-overdue reforms to council tax so that owners of large houses pay more, and regulate the rental sector much more actively. These are central arguments of ‘The Crisis for Young People: Generational Inequalities in Education, Work, Housing and Welfare’, a new book by professor Andy Green of UCL Institute of Education (IOE). Read more on 24housing.

Rise In Single Property Landlords Hit By Buy To Let Tax Changes

Single property landlords are finally waking up to the fact they could be pushed in to a higher tax bracket following the introduction of new taxation rules for buy to let. Research from the NLA shows the proportion of single property landlords who anticipate they will be moved up a tax bracket as a result of the changes has almost doubled since the end of 2016. Sixteen per cent of landlords with a single property now say the changes will push them into a higher income tax bracket - a rise of seven per cent compared to Q4 2016. Read more on the NLA website.

Landlords Look To Commercial Loans To Sidestep Buy-To-Let Changes

The proportion of landlords intending to take out commercial loans to fund their property purchases has doubled over the last 18 months as they look for ways to avoid the impact of changes to landlord taxation. The research from the National Landlords Association (NLA) shows that landlords who said they planned to use commercial loans has risen from 10 per cent in July 2015 to 19 per cent at the end of last year. The changes to taxation will take place from April this year and, once fully phased in by 2021, will prevent landlords with buy-to-let mortgages from deducting their interest payments or any other finance-related costs from their turnover before declaring their taxable income. Read more on the NLA website.

PM 'Will Not Hit' One Million New Homes Target

The government's target is one million new homes by 2020; the argument being that more supply will bring down prices. But the head of one of the UK's largest housebuilders, Berkeley Homes, says the target may be missed. Radical change will be required to raise the current new-build rate above 170,000 per year, says Rob Perrins. When I asked him if the target would be hit, his answer was emphatic. "There are three reasons why they will not hit the target. Firstly, there is not enough land ready for development. Secondly, the UK has the highest property taxation in the world. And it acts as a disincentive to build and [for people to] move. And thirdly, I don't believe it is a top three political issue.” Read more on the BBC website.