Isn’t it incredible that the moment a prominent Labour front bench politician resigns their seat the truth outs! Doesn’t it just tell you what hypocrisy lies within the shadow Labour government trying to tow the line from Ed Balls whose frightening enchantment with Mansion Tax is so cynical?
Tessa Jowell has resigned her beat in Dulwich and West Norwood to take on Boris at the next London Mayoral Election. She has been quoted demonstrating her serious misgivings about whether a Mansion Tax, or should I use its uncoded version ‘Home Tax’, and its effect on the cash strapped elderly widow who does not live in a mansion but who will have to pay the tax if implemented nether the less.
This Home Tax will kill the ‘golden goose’, i.e. The London Property Market, which has been such an important stimulant to the UK economy, retail spending and employment.
The tax threshold of £2million will be reduced to £1million since the former is unlikely to raise enough money to warrant its implementation and, before you know it, very un-wealthy London homeowners – and elsewhere – will be paying 2% gross for the privilege of owning their properties that they paid for with post tax earnings.
Maybe the penny has dropped with the Lib Dems/Labour Parties that taxation at the higher levels has been taken as far as it can go and they’re switching their targets from taxing income to wealth. Wealth tax has never worked abroad and has been repealed in many countries. The UK has one of the highest overall property taxation regimes in the world and 2% of the taxpayers carry the burden of 30% overall taxation.
I never thought that I would agree with Tessa Jowell but an extension of the Council Tax Bands does make a great deal of sense although the monies raised will pass to the Councils and not to the Exchequer that is probably why government are not so keen on this measure.
From the Budget of 2012 there have already been at least two draconian taxes placed on property purchasers in the UK with a third shortly to be announced by the Chancellor in the Autumn Statement. If Mansion Tax is added to this burden the consequences are dire.
Please, put common sense where it is most needed in the minds of these socialists who, lets face it, couldn’t run a whelk stall.