In a change to previous procedures, today is the day that the government publishes documents and tax consultations that would traditionally have been published alongside the Budget.
The separation of this procedure is to give more transparency and opportunity for scrutiny and will help to ensure that tax professionals feed into the Treasury’s policy decisions.
Announcing the change in February, Financial secretary to the Treasury Jesse Norman said:
“We are making these announcements separately to the Budget, but still all on a single day, in order to give a range of important but less high profile measures greater visibility among members of parliament, tax professionals and other stakeholders, and greater scope for scrutiny by them.”
Dominic Agace, chief executive of Winkworth, with 100 offices nationwide, including 60 in the capital, commented to just two examples.
“The concern with capital gains tax is that changes will go too far.
“Even with the support the Government has given to first time buyers, I don’t believe this is enough to provide the range of homes and tenures needed if you remove investors from the property market.
“In my view, rather than the removal of all buy to let, the aim should be to create two million new homeowners but retain a perhaps smaller, high quality, lower leveraged buy to let sector, providing flexible living choices in the property market.
“Build to rent is not yet ready to provide the numbers of homes needed and the scale of the projects does not provide the choice the private rental sector currently offers.
“We need a balance, giving opportunities to first time buyers and a quality buy to let sector – not a blunt choice between one or the other.”
On business rates, Agace says:
“This is a critical reform in my view.
“It is affecting the competitiveness of our local shops and the quality and sense of community in our local areas. High streets are the hubs where young and old meet and we need to protect them to preserve our quality of life and to satisfy our social natures.
“It is simply not right that at the moment those local shops, despite the additional value they provide to a community, are taxed more for doing so.
“We have had had a glimpse of what life is like in city centres without shops during the pandemic and need to protect against that becoming a reality in the future.”
Comments (3)
And so it begins. You now have this Winkworth organisation actively assisting the eradication of small LL. If I was considering any business dealings I certainly wouldn’t consider using Winkworth for anything. You now have the ridiculous situation whereby industry participants are actively colluding with Govt to get rid of small LL. Winkworth is a disgrace. It really is time that LL avoided using those who wish them gone. The claptrap this guy from Winkworth comes out with is simply amazing. He is certainly the enemy within. His suggestions are simply bonkers. No LL objects to fair competition. BTR isn’t fair. They are allowed to offset their finance costs against income. Small LL who remain sole traders are subject to the ridiculous S24 if they have mortgages. But it is clear that Govt is in agreement with what he suggests. There is a wholesale Govt attack on small 2nd homeowners. Apparently FHL are now to lose their small business rates relief. Goalposts are being drastically repositioned. Anyone who owns a 2nd property is going to be taxed to the hilt. That will be ALL LL and those who have 2nd homes for their use. Govt is coming for the asset wealth tied up in property.
What’s FHL, Paul?
The comment from Winkworth doesn’t seem to acknowledge the millions of homes – whether rooms or entire houses and flats – in the PRS at the bottom end of the market which are crucial and which BTR doesn’t target. Where are these people for whom social homes are unavailable to go in the imagined shrunk PRS which only has ‘quality’ (read ‘expensive’) homes?