Theresa May plans UK property tax for foreign home buyers

Bank of England Governor Mark Carney said a no-deal Brexit could see house prices plummet by over 35% Foreign buyers face higher taxes on their purchase of homes in the UK as Prime Minister Theresa May starts unveiling policy plans before her Conservative party conference.

The government said it will launch a consultation to increase stamp duty on individuals and companies not paying tax in the UK Ministers are considering a rate ranging from 1 percent to 3 percent, according to the Sunday Telegraph newspaper.

The move is likely to add to the pressure on the country’s property market. Bank of England Governor Mark Carney told senior government ministers earlier this month that a no-deal Brexit could see house prices plummet by more than 35 percent, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

The UK’s imminent departure from the world’s biggest trading bloc is already weighing on property values in London, where house prices posted their biggest decline in almost a decade in July.

The average property in the capital cost 485,000 pounds ($632,004). Nationally, growth slowed to the weakest pace since August 2013.

“Currently foreign buyers can purchase homes in the UK as easily as people who live here, but there is evidence this is inflating house prices,” the government said.

The government said the stamp duty increase would make homes more affordable for British residents and money raised would be used to help the homeless.

Ref : Property Report