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The Independent
5 minutes ago
- The Independent
Would a new property tax be electoral disaster for Labour?
For many months, ministers have been curiously coy about whether they would introduce a ' wealth tax '. It was previously flatly denied and was not mentioned in the manifesto. Yet more recently, from Sir Keir Starmer down, there's been a refusal to comment. Now, perhaps, we know why: a conscious leak from the Treasury suggests Rachel Reeves is contemplating reforms to stamp duty and council tax that would amount to a new property tax. Apparently, the chancellor has briefed cabinet colleagues about the project and they are gauging public reaction. If implemented, it would be a politically brave move. What does the chancellor want? There are few details, but Reeves's idea seems to be to levy a new tax on homes worth more than £500,000 with, most likely, some adjustments to council tax and stamp duty at all levels of the property market. This new levy would replace stamp duty on owner-occupied primary residential homes (second and rental homes being treated differently already). A further annual local property tax would be added, based on an updated estimation of relative property values; this would replace council tax. When does she want it? A new national property levy could replace stamp duty in this parliament. A wholesale reform of local government finance, including a transition from council tax to local property tax and a valuation of every single home, would take years. Reportedly, that would be for Labour's hoped-for second term. Why is it being considered? Reeves is desperate for new sources of tax revenue that won't violate the manifesto commitment not to raise rates of income tax, employee national insurance and VAT. That doesn't leave much, even with income tax and NI thresholds frozen. Some researchers estimate the 'black hole' in the government's budget could yawn to about £40bn a year by the end of this parliament – way more than the current level and beyond what fiscal rules and the markets would tolerate. Is a property tax a good idea in any case? Yes, in the sense that the British approach to taxing wealth is completely irrational. Unlike any other asset – rental properties, shares, artworks, businesses – the value of a main home is untaxed, nor are any capital gains derived from moving up the property chain. That badly distorts against investment in productive capital and in favour of consumption, and thus blunts productivity growth and living standards. The resulting concentration of wealth as it cascades down the generations with minimal inheritance tax is driving a steadily more unequal society. Would a new property tax be a wealth tax? Yes, but it might be presented as a fairer and more rational version of the wealth taxes we already have: council tax, stamp duty, capital gains tax and inheritance tax. But it would suffer from the same drawbacks as council tax (and, to a lesser extent, stamp duty) in that it is almost completely unrelated to ability to pay. Someone lucky enough to live in what is now a very valuable home, but who has a small income in retirement, couldn't afford an annual tax bill and would have to borrow against or sell their home (although the tax could be deferred until death and deducted from the estate at probate, making it effectively a hike in inheritance tax). It would also favour the wealthy few whose money is tied up in several properties or businesses because they would only be liable on the first property as a main home; a 'proper' and efficient wealth tax would treat all kinds of assets neutrally. A more sensible approach to local government finance might be a local income tax – a policy idea adopted in Scotland by the SNP government in 2007 but later abandoned – and a more sensitive way of transferring money from richer areas to poorer ones. At the moment, council tax rates vary considerably between different areas, and about a fifth of local government funding comes from the Treasury out of central taxation. How much might it be? Anyone's guess, but most likely unrelated to wages or other income. The centre-right think tank Onward, which last year came up with the original paper that inspired the Treasury, suggested that owners, rather than the residents, of a property worth up to £500,000 would pay various tiered rates of national and local property tax dependent on the value of their home. They would pay a minimum of £800 a year directly to their local authority, but who knows what living in a £2m townhouse would set you back. How would it play politically? Disastrously. Any such reform necessarily creates winners, who are electorally ungrateful, and losers, who are highly resentful. The last time such a change was attempted was when the 'rates' were abolished in the late 1980s to make way for the flat rate per-person poll tax, triggering a riot, mass non-payment, and ultimately contributing to the fall of Margaret Thatcher. Vast accidental disparities in individual liabilities rendered the poll tax impractical and indefensible; it took some years and much cost to the Treasury to move from the poll tax to the current council tax regime with its various reliefs and exemptions. Memories of that painful episode mean no government has dared to touch property taxation besides fiddling around the thresholds. By making the plan part of the next Labour manifesto, but without much detail about who would pay and how much they'd pay, paranoia about the new tax would run rampant. Inheritance tax, which very few estates actually pay, is almost universally hated, and so would be a new 'Labour wealth tax'. It would be regarded as a 'tax on aspiration'. Whisper it, but some of the 'working people' that Labour has solemnly pledged to protect own their own homes, and it is their sole source of wealth. Some imagine they will one day have a £1m house; they may already do if they live in London. Even with her proven record of poor political judgement, it is hard to understand what Reeves is playing at. At best; she is being pushed around – again – by Treasury civil servants who care nothing about politics; at worst, she's become a little too crazed about fiscal rectitude.
Daily Mail
6 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
REVEALED: How Liverpool became kings of making mega-money from player sales... and why that means they can still afford Alexander Isak AND Marc Guehi this summer
There is a phrase within the industry that some of the bigwigs in the offices of Premier League clubs are starting to call ' Liverpool tax'. It refers to the champions' knack of ekeing every penny out of a potential deal and selling their assets for healthy prices when other teams might not have been able to get anywhere near as much money for the same player.
The Guardian
6 minutes ago
- The Guardian
How would potential new property tax differ from stamp duty and council tax system?
The government is considering a new national property tax as the first step towards a radical shake-up of stamp duty and council tax. The discussions taking place at the Treasury – revealed by the Guardian on Monday – have already prompted much debate and, perhaps inevitably, led to an outcry in some quarters. Here we consider how the current system works and how it could change. Two things, essentially. First, sources said Treasury officials were initially examining a potential new tax that would replace stamp duty on owner-occupied homes. It would be paid by homeowners on properties worth more than £500,000 when they sold them. The amount paid would be determined by a property's value. Such a change would be a big deal because under the current system, stamp duty is paid by buyers, not sellers. It could be a bigger concern for some people living in London, the south-east and other areas where property prices are particularly high. Second, officials are also said to be studying whether, after a national tax was brought in, a local property tax could then replace council tax in the medium term. While a new national property tax could in theory be implemented during this parliament, overhauling council tax would take longer and would almost certainly require Labour to win a second term in 2029. You must pay stamp duty land tax (SDLT) – to give it its full name – if you buy a property over a certain price in England and Northern Ireland. There are different approaches to some land taxes in Wales and Scotland. Stamp duty rates vary depending on whether someone is a first-time buyer, and are banded in steps upward depending on the value of the property. They can also vary as a result of stamp duty 'holidays' benefiting some buyers that are brought in from time to time. The rates changed in April this year, and (first-time buyers excepted) where this is the only residential property someone will own, the tax is now zero up to £125,000, then 2% on the portion from £125,001 to £250,000, and 5% on the portion from £250,001 to £925,000. There are then two more bands so that it tops out at 12% on the portion above £1.5m. However, economists and others have long criticised stamp duty as outdated – SDLT is based on a tax first introduced in England in 1694 – and arguably the biggest barrier to moving house. Paul Johnson, until recently the director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies, has said that of all the taxes levied at present, stamp duty on homes 'has a pretty good claim to be the most damaging and pernicious of the lot'. He added: 'The more often you move, the more tax you pay. It gums up the housing market and, by extension, the labour market.' The average stamp duty bill has risen to £9,935, according to research issued earlier this year by Coventry building society. It was £6,235 in 2014, according to its data. But of course, individual amounts vary hugely. It is estimated that the majority of property transactions – about 60%-plus – are affected by stamp duty. It has been suggested it would be paid by owner-occupiers on houses worth more than £500,000 when they sell up. The rate would be set by central government. This tax would not replace stamp duty on second homes. On the face of it, and based on current property prices, a £500,000 threshold would mean that the majority of people selling their home would escape the new tax. The average price of a home in the UK is £272,664 or £298,237, depending on whether you believe Nationwide's or Halifax's latest data. Sign up to Business Today Get set for the working day – we'll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning after newsletter promotion But tough luck if you are in London: according to the Halifax's latest data, the average house price in the capital is £539,000. The Guardian reported that the new tax (if it happens) would only affect about a fifth of property sales. Stephen Perkins, the managing director at the home loans broker Yellow Brick Mortgages, said: 'Financially, unless the property tax is ridiculously high, this will raise less money than stamp duty, as fewer homes will be affected.' He claimed: 'Initially, sellers will just build this into asking prices, sending [property] prices up.' Sources said Treasury officials were, in part, drawing on the findings of a 48-page report from the centre-right thinktank Onward, which was published in August last year. This put forward the idea of a 0.54% tax, with a 0.278% supplement on the portion of any value that exceeded £1m, which it said 'would raise the same amount as stamp duty'. The tax would be levied only on properties valued at £500,000-plus, and only on the portion of value above £500,000. The thinktank proposed that someone who had only recently bought their house and paid a substantial sum in stamp duty would not be asked to pay this tax in addition. Council tax has been described as 'a deeply broken system', and in its report, Onward said the way it worked meant 'an average home in Blackpool contributes more to the public purse than a mansion in Kensington'. Council tax bands in England are still set using property values from 1 April 1991, ranging from band A, for homes worth up to £40,000, to band H, for those worth £320,001 and above. The system of funding local government is different across the UK. The average band D council tax set by local authorities in England for 2025-26 was £2,280 – an increase of £109, or 5%, on the 2024-25 figure of £2,171. The idea of a new local annual property levy to replace council tax was also proposed by Onward. That plan – for a 'local proportional property tax' – would result in the owners, rather than the residents, of a property worth up to £500,000 paying varying rates of tax dependent on the value of the home. They would pay a minimum of £800 a year. A rate of 0.44% 'would raise the same amount of revenue as council tax', said the report. The TaxPayers' Alliance was quoted as saying: 'If these reports are true, then taxpayers are facing a wealth tax in all but name.' Craig Fish, the director at the mortgage broker Lodestone, said he was concerned that such a shake-up would stop people selling or moving home, especially in high-value areas. 'The result is less income overall,' he said.
