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News: Note to Chancellor - scrap stamp duty and capital gains tax surcharges

Tue, 02 Oct 18

The first of the industry trade bodies to issue a series of demands for this month’s Budget is the National Landlords Association - and it’s insisting Chancellor Philip Hammond takes note of eight key objectives. 

“The government needs to consider the implications of the policies they have introduced in recent years. Already we have seen landlords start to sell property, which only serves to limit the amount of choice available to renters and continue to make housing unaffordable” says Meera Chindooroy, NLA policy and public affairs manager.

“Landlords are running a business, but the government refuses to acknowledge that and treat them appropriately. If they want landlords to continue to provide homes, and fill the gap in social housing, they need to properly incentivise landlords to remain in business” Chindooroy says.

The NLA wants Hammond to:

1. embark on an immediate review of the removal of mortgage interest relief for private landlords;

2. introduce a package of Capital Gains Tax reduction measures to encourage the sale of poorly performing investment properties; and those properties where the proceeds of the sale will be entirely reinvested into the lettings business; and properties invested in, and utilised, for a period of more than 10 years; and properties that are eligible and suitable for sale to existing tenants;

3. introduce measures to facilitate the tax-efficient movement of a lettings portfolio into a corporate structure;

4. establish a government-backed investment vehicle to allow the sale of properties into a managed fund;

5. reintroduce the Landlords’ Energy Saving Allowance and establish a level sufficient to improve the tax efficiency of carrying out relevant works;

6. remove the Capital Gains Tax surcharge for property sales;

7. introduce Capital Gains Tax tapering and business asset rollover relief for private residential property which is let; and

8. abolish the Stamp Duty Land Tax levy on additional property.

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