The only real benefit of the foolhardy Non Dom tax changes, instituted in the Autumn Statement of 2014 and exacerbated by the Referendum/Brexit result, is the emergence of the ‘uber tenant’.
These are international, high net worth individuals, who would have ordinarily bought substantial mansions of £20-50million each, but instead have chosen to rent these properties at eye-wateringly high levels which, in some cases, have exceeded a staggering £25,000 per week.
The press has mooted the idea of Capital Gains Tax on ones PPR above £5million. Usually in these circumstances there is no ‘smoke without fire’. Were this ‘fool hardy’ idea to be incorporated in the first Budget of the new Tory administration, were they to be elected, this would be the first time that any government has had the temerity to trounce on the sacred ground of the middle to upper classes. It unquestionably would be another ‘bash’ against London residents, which, lets face it, is hardly a Tory heartland, since it is has been historically left leaning.
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Cluttons are quoted today acknowledging that residential property prices in London rose by 2.3% in the first quarter and the average price of an apartment breached the £1m limit for the first time. They anticipate prices to rise by 22% over the next five years.
This is probably true and is a demonstration of the lack of supply of properties on the market at any one time. Continue reading