Buy to let stamp duty surcharge and other related news

[AtW]

No, it doesn't, as attested to by the chart YOU posted.

It will affect you if you buy SECOND HOUSE!!!

If will NOT affect you (via refund) if you already have second house but only changing main residense.

If you were to sell your second house and then buy different second house, then you'd have to pay 3%... unless you are prepared to lie that it's your main residence.

The main pont is that it's yet another tax on transactions that should not exist - stamp duty is high as it is already, as always with Gidiot big boys get away with it - businesses with 15+ houses will not have to pay it.

[AtW]

This government is a f&&king disaster. Completely incapable of policing our borders, they instead put responsibilities on the common man and then have the repugnant audacity to tax and fine that man to the bone.

Orwellian fiction could not be more offensive.

What's next - why don't the government give us all uniforms to wear and a baton so that we can chase down the real criminals while the official state police catch cars that break the speed limit by 2mph.

+1

Makes last LibCon Govt look awesome - and they had far higher pressure to cut borrowing then the Govt got now.

[d000hg]

It will affect you if you buy SECOND HOUSE!!!

So don't buy a second house. You really think anyone cares that those people buying second houses have to pay a bit more tax on a vanity/luxury purchase?

Apart from anything else, multiple home ownership is bad when we have a housing shortage, and bad for the economies of the place where the second house sits empty most of the year.

As for those wanting to get into BTL... you should always choose what to invest in based on the prospects and costs. If BTL is less attractive, invest elsewhere. BTL is not some basic human freedom.

You seem to have a lot to say about home ownership and BTL for someone who doesn't even own one house, not even a tiny flat.

[AtW]

Apart from anything else, multiple home ownership is bad when we have a housing shortage, and bad for the economies of the place where the second house sits empty most of the year.

Correct solution is to build more houses - this creates employment and new wealth in form of bricks and mortar.

This is the only way to have affordable housing - increasing cost of buying will just prop up the bubble, which is the sole objective with those taxes.

Don't buy second house? Maybe I'll buy it in some other country then, what's good for UK when large sums flow out of country to be invested elsewhere?

[DimPrawn]

Don't buy second house? Maybe I'll buy it in some other country then, what's good for UK when large sums flow out of country to be invested elsewhere?

[Martin@AS Financial]

From todays Mortgage Solutions:

"Gulf-based buyers pile into’ UK market ahead of Stamp Duty levy"

Enquiries from buyers based in the United Arab Emirates and Qatar have surged by 60% month-on-month ahead of the looming 3% Stamp Duty surcharge on second properties, findings reveal.

According to deVere Mortgages, where 70% of enquiries come from foreign nationals or British expats, buyers based in the Gulf nations are now ‘piling into the market’.

Approximately 45% of the overseas enquiries dealt with by deVere are from British expats or nationals residing in Qatar or the UAE.

Kevin White, head of distribution at deVere, said: “There has been a 60% month-on-month uplift in enquiries from Qatar and the UAE. People based in these Gulf nations are now piling into the British property market.

“We attribute this rush-to-buy phenomenon to those who, quite sensibly, want to avoid being subjected to the extra levy. No-one wants to pay an extra 3% in Stamp Duty.”

From April, buyers purchasing a second property will be subject to a 3% Stamp Duty premium. The details of the policy have not yet been announced, but the government’s consultation closed to responses on the matter this week.

A recent report published by estate agent Cluttons predicted a mass exodus of foreign buyers from the Prime London market as nerves surrounding currency and tax fluctuations prompt potential investors to reconsider their plans.

White explained that while UK property remained highly sought after among expats and overseas buyers, he warned that there were extra hurdles that they would have to face.

“British expats and foreign buyers should know that they are typically deemed as ‘high risk’ by the vast majority of UK lenders. They are usually ‘red-flagged’ due to a lower UK credit rating as they have lived outside the UK, earned a different currency and worked for a non UK-based firm. This is often the case even for those who have substantial assets and/or a high, stable salary,” he said.

One major issue the government has consulted on in its paper is a Stamp Duty refund mechanism for buyers selling their original home within 18 months of buying a second property.

White explained that overseas buyers should consider ‘the pitfall of wasting money’ on higher rates and subsequential ability to reclaim tax within 18 months.

[DimPrawn]

Let them pile in, and then add another stamp duty for sellers to pay if the owner is not resident for at least 6 months a year.

[jamesbrown]

Let them pile in, and then add another stamp duty for sellers to pay if the owner is not resident for at least 6 months a year.

Expect some tweaks to CGT next, dressed up as "imbalances" in the tax system. Not the obvious, sensible, ones that would encourage long-term investors, obviously.

[Martin@AS Financial]

Interesting story from Property Industry Eye

College principal faces jail for failure to declare rental income to HMRC:

A college principal who failed to declare the money he made from renting out properties has been sentenced for evading income tax.

Between April 1997 and April 2012, and in addition to his day-job as college head, Macdonald Abamba rented out properties and did not declare any rental income.

After confessing to tax fraud, he was sentenced this week at Croydon Crown Court to two years in prison, suspended for two years, and ordered to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work and pay £1,500 in costs.

He was also ordered to repay £283,886 within three months or face three years behind bars.

Abamba, 57, principal of the School of Computing and Business Studies in London, owned ten properties in Lewisham, Bromley and Croydon, with rent over the five-year period equating to £216,260 in unpaid income tax.

Instead he used that to purchase more properties in the UK and Dubai, plus land in Ghana and Nigeria.

HMRC uncovered the fraud as part of a clampdown on property owners and landlords trying to avoid paying tax.

Initially, Abamba was offered the opportunity to pay what he owed in full alongside any interest and penalties due, through HMRC’s civil Contractual Disclosure Facility route.

However, he ignored this chance, and as a result HMRC began a criminal investigation into his tax affairs. He was later charged with cheating the public revenue, contrary to common law.

John Cooper, assistant director, Fraud Investigation Service at HMRC, said: “Abamba should have done the right thing by declaring this income. He was given the opportunity to come clean and pay what he owed but he chose to ignore it.

“He now has a criminal record, has ruined his reputation and must rightfully repay the money he stole, plus interest, within three months or face real jail time.

“The majority of us pay the tax that’s due, when it’s due, and it is unfair that people like Abamba think they have the right to steal money that is needed to fund vital public services.

“We know that some landlords are unsure of their tax liabilities which is why we launched the Let Property campaign, but this man clearly knew what he was doing and continued anyway.”

[NigelJK]

“The majority of us you pay the tax that’s due , but even if you do we'll still drag you through the mud if we think we can get some public sympathy, when it’s due, and it is unfair that people like Abamba think they have the right to steal money that is needed to fund vital public services. my pension.

FTFT