Topic: | Re:Re:Estate Agents against Mansion Tax Shock ! | |
Posted by: | Adrian Irving | |
Date/Time: | 29/09/14 13:02:00 |
Copied & pasted from an article by Glentree Estates; The penny has dropped, here we are searching for justification for these Labour Party policies on economic grounds and struggling to find them. The reason why it is so difficult for economists and political commentators to demonstrate that these socialistically inspired policies would not raise the monies that Ed Balls is suggesting is that they don’t need to raise any money at all. In fact, by way of illustration, the Treasury themselves have carried out independent assessments and have found that 45% high income tax raises more money than 50%. Why then is the Shadow Chancellor promoting the latter? Why is he promoting Mansion Tax when it is likely that property prices could cascade downwards by up to 50% and cause a full-blown self-engineered property slump? The answer is simple, it is part of the sustained tactics of the Labour party to engender a class war. Was M. Hollande aware that his draconian 75% Tax Regime (proposed when he was electioneering for President) would cause a stampede of wealth creators from France – of course he was but if it helped him get elected then it was worth its ‘weight in gold’ to him. For France, it was another ‘nail in the coffin’ since these are the very individuals who should be incentivised to build businesses, employ people and build the French economy.Sadly, I wish the British electorate saw this social cynicism for what it is. It is barefaced electioneering and its treats people like idiots. I know that no political party is perfect but surely this manipulation of the mind and goading of class war has to rank amongst the lowest form of tactic. Red Ed’s plan for Mansion Tax to pay for the NHS – could this be more politically charged? Posted on September 23, 2014 Well, you have heard it first at the Labour Conference yesterday the somewhat ‘bumbling’ Ed Balls espousing the politically charged rhetoric that Mansion Tax will pay for the NHS. How cynical is this? Firstly, the proponents of this tax have no idea how much revenue it will raise and this figure is pure guesswork. Secondly, I’m not sure how much more money needs to be spent on the NHS since the present government has maintained the fulsome commitments to healthcare of frontline medicine of the last ‘discredited Labour regime’ despite the vital cut-backs that needed to be done. I have been in the estate agency business for over 40 years now, have seen out four recessions, and I can tell you that Mansion Tax, as presently proposed, will drive a ‘coach and horses’ through the higher ranges of the property market in London and the fall- out will come cascading down to the lower price ranges. Before you know it there will be a self-engineered, full blown property recession that will affect the wider reaches of the economy. Prices may well drop by up to 50% and householders will be in the awful dilemma of wanting to sell, so as to avoid this punitive tax, but unable to do so due to massive over-supply and falling prices. This could mean that there will be far fewer transactions and revenue from Stamp Duty (SDLT) will drop markedly. Anyone who has a brain in their heads will contest values at each threshold and the courts will be awash with litigation. Despite the provisions for ‘cash poor widows’, allowing the tax to be deferred (plus interest) until they die, between this liability and death duties there will be precious little left to bequeath to their families. What a depressing scenario! A reputable firm of estate agents has already cost the gains from this tax and have suggested that the proposed threshold for Mansion Tax may need to be dropped from £2million to £1million in order to supplement the tax revenue and therefore Mansion Tax will morph into a ‘Home Tax’ before too long. Potential Labour supporters who are very excited about the prospect of ‘kicking the rich’ will find the waves of this daft proposal lapping at their own doorsteps if there is a full blown property recession and people go into negative equity. Presently, there are many stable loans that will turn into negative equity if the foregoing scenario takes place. This will worry the lending institutions, even more so than they are at present, and mortgage valuers will start slashing valuations mercilessly. We all know why the socialists are propagating Mansion Tax and as a ‘double whammy’ they are linking it to the NHS, but to put the economy under threat is a heinous crime and is a further demonstration of the adage ‘why would you give the keys of the British economy to the people who crashed it last time?’ I rest my case. |