More than quarter of a million homes are up for inspection by HMRC officers as part of Labour’s ‘Mansion Tax’ plans. The war on aspiration continues…
The tax will implement four thresholds for property valuations – a sliding scale with homes valued between £2 million and £2.5 million paying £2,500 per year, and those valued at more than £5 million owing £7,500.
The tax is already causing significant “bunching” on house offers and purchases. 83% of offers on homes priced within 10% of £2 million came in below that threshold versus only 64% for the previous year. Bunching is occurring at higher rates too…
HMRC will be keen to avoid missing out on revenue by valuing properties above thresholds where owners have tried to keep them just below. That may mean a large number of “internal inspections” on the way. The Valuation Office has already hired half a thousand new valuation officers for “data enhancement” on Council Tax. Boots on the ground…
This means a large number of properties are up for in-person inspection. A conservative estimate of homes valued between £1.5 and £2 million is 150,000. The OBR predicts that 71,000 are worth between £2 and £2.5 million and there are 94,000 homes above that. These will have to be valued every five years according to Labour’s new Council Tax grab measures…
That’s 315,000 homes at least set to receive a knock at the door every five years. There is a reason that valuations are so difficult to do…
Lord Khan in the Telegraph: “I hope, and I say this in a non-pompous way, that the public service I do will bring rewards in this world and the hereafter,” he says. “I’m hoping the work I do is earning me Brownie points.”