| Topic: | Mansion / Property tax question for Ruth Cadbury / Guy Lambert | |
| Posted by: | Lorne Gifford | |
| Date/Time: | 29/04/15 09:38:00 |
| Ruth / Guy Please explain to us how mansion tax will make any money for the NHS. The Economist, FT, OBR and various other publications & independent bodies detail how £1.2bn might well be raised from this tax, but that £2.0bn will also be lost due to reduced stamp duty and inheritance tax revenue. Mansion tax devalues 'mansions' by imposing an everlasting tax liability on them. With the average 'mansion' tax bill expected to be £25,000 per year it is hardly surprising that the devaluation is going to significantly affect stamp duty and inheritance tax revenues. £1.2bn take away £2.0bn is a negative result, so there doesn't appear to be any money left over for the NHS. Why then are Labour pushing this mansion tax thing so hard? Is it for a tax that you can say 'someone else will pay' when canvassing for votes? Or is it something that will be extended down to a starting rate of £500k or less, so that it can actually raise some money? Greece, where mansion tax was introduced in 2008 (with a promise it wouldn't change) had by 2013 deemed anything worth more that £250k was now a mansion and had to pay 1% of its value as additional property tax every year. ATED, the Annual Tax on Enveloped Dwellings. This is a tax paid by foreign property owners here in the UK (yes, it does already exist). Introduced at a starting level of £2m, next year the level will be bought down to £500k. I'd like an answer please |