This article by Amanda Banks of Tax-News Global Tax News on November 5th, 2013 reveals George Osborne has declined to reports confirming that the govt. is considering moves to foreign investors.
UK Chancellor George Osborne has declined to confirm reports that the
Government is considering moves to make foreign investors pay Capital
Gains Tax on property sales in Britain, as a measure to calm property
prices in London.
Asked by the BBC, Osborne said that he would not comment ahead of
next month's Autumn Statement, but that the reports were "not a leak
that's come from anyone near me."
Currently, foreign investors are exempt from paying the tax, which is
imposed on UK residents who sell a property that is not their main
residence. The exemption has been described as an "extraordinary
anomaly" by Vince Cable, who is the Government's Business Secretary
and a member of the Coalition Government's junior partner, the Liberal
Democrats.
Lucian Cook, who is Director of Residential Research at estate agency
Savills, judged that move would be a "much more targeted and much less
controversial solution" to property prices than a proposed Mansion Tax
on the most valuable properties. However, the British Property
Federation (BPF) reacted by warning that reports about the tax would
cause uncertainty, and it has instead called for more homes to be
built.
Estate Agency Frank Knight was quoted as saying that around 70
percent of the most expensive new London properties have gone to
foreign investors, and that 65 percent of these buyers were buying
properties for renting out rather than to live in. Property prices in
London rose by 9 percent in August, against a national average of 2
percent.
Overseas purchasers are also thought to be responsible for house
prices rises in Hong Kong, Sydney, and Vancouver. Last year, Hong Kong
introduced a 15 percent stamp duty surcharge on purchases by buyers
who are not permanent residents, while a senior banker in Australia
recently made news by suggesting a 5 percent stamp duty surcharge for
foreign buyers.
Article Source: http://www.tax-news.com/news/Osborne_Said_To_Be_Considering_Tax_For_Foreign_PropertyBuyers____62574.html
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