To think people who own more than 3 properties should have a special tax applied to them?

[Calltheguards]

I'm just thinking with the housing crisis, should people really own more than 3 properties? I would assume it's a property portfolio and used to exploit renters. AIBU to think there should be a special tax applied to property owners who own more than 3 properties? Maybe tax them at a really high rate to discourage people from hoarding property.

Some people work hard and are lucky, some people work hard and are unlucky.

No one has offered another solution and it appears that future generations are screwed despite also working hard, maybe they will work even harder...

Anyways, no one wants to respond to this?

Do you believe that rent as a % of income has remained static and not been affected by property magnates?

What do you think will happen to the economy as the % increases, companies continue to shut down, and new jobs created are zero hours contracts in a gig economy?

@Handsoffmysweets

I'm not sure why you're getting personal? Lol people get upset that I don't respond to them, then get upset when I respond.

Op, you really don’t understand the implications of what you are saying.
If investors don’t think it’s worth investing in then the housing market will suffer greatly, and consequently the economy. Investors won’t invest, builders won’t build. Construction industry at a halt will create a domino effect on the whole economy, jobs will be lost, public spend would reduce, house prices would be affected as would interest rates, also less rental properties available due to investors not interested and more homeless people. This is what happens is an economy that doesn’t make sense, as you’re suggesting,

Imagine a scenario

30 people in a school class of similar backgrounds
10 go to university & compete degrees of equal value
5 uni grads own property (no inheritance) the others rent
1 uni grad owns more than one property

All 30 are individual people
Nobody is better than anyone else
Most people earn & pay taxes

There is a difference between companies that own lots of property & one individual who has a couple of properties

I know some people whose work pension includes investment in property & they have a good pension

@BeardyButton thanks but those google links take me to the articles then the FT blocks them unless I subscribe. I'm guessing that as I'm outside of the UK I don't get any free article views.

I did have a peek at the Economist and found this, which is sort of on topic.

www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2019/03/07/prices-of-prime-properties-around-the-world-are-falling

If you don't already know it, I strongly recommend the Economist. It's very even handed and insightful.

@Sb74

Either way the economy will be screwed at this current rate with the advances in robotics and automation. I have experience in automation so I can only imagine how far it will go and how many jobs will be obsolete as technology advances at a lightning rate. Where will all the jobless be housed when the social housing stock has been depleted?

Where will all the jobless be housed when the social housing stock has been depleted?

Wouldn't a better question be "How will we retrain the jobless so they can return to job martket?"

Op, it’s not a straight forward problem. There are many factors contributing to the housing crisis and not one solution will fix it. Penalising those that have set themselves up well financially and contribute more to society than they receive should not even be seen as a solution. The middles class, which many of the people with more than one home are, actually, pay enough out in taxes already. So rather than allowing bitterness to formulate your “solutions” OP, why not try to think about how you can improve your life if you’re not happy? Because that’s all we can all do.

OP give up. I think I will. When people involved in a debate get personal, it means they ve lost. They wont answer your questions because they cant or dont want to. Its a very complex issue. The answer to the very simple question - is the current situation fair, is no. Its not fair that some have so much, while others work as hard, make sensible decisions and prioritise long term goals, and still cannot buy a house. There is always an element of luck and good timing. But people like to think of themselves as bringers of their own destiny and ultimately deserving of all they have (and so those who dont have, dont deserve). The more difficult question - how to make it fair. Well! Its a separate question and difficult to answer. As the articles i linked to earlier show... This is very complicated. And it certainly isn't a simple matter of any intervention will mean a decrease in supply and therfore increase homelessness.

At a certain point, the vast majority of jobs will be programmed in to obsolescence... There will be no where for those jobless to work or retrain for. You could say they could try to retrain to become automation engineers but you have the issue that not many people can handle the technical aspect of a job like that and not that many engineers will be sought out for work.

The original question
Should have special tax

This already occurs

@Calltheguards what properties do you own?

I too know about automation OP. I agree it presents a challenge but this is an issue that the government and global organisations need to plan for and manage. Just because the capability is there doesn’t mean it should be used. There is a responsibility to ensure long-term plans are developed to ensure the implementation of automation doesn’t cause an economic catastrophe. Making private landlords pay the price isn’t going to help with this problem. It is a much bigger challenge, as you will know.

@BeardyButton

I know there's no point in continuing. So many of these people are at a point in their lives where they cannot come to grips with where technology and the future is headed.

Call, you have completely changed what you are talking about, which isn’t helpful?? I don’t think this has anything to do with peoples’ understanding, your question had nothing to do with the future of the economy etc etc??

None of us know what the future holds. But let’s not be all doom and gloom??!! Other jobs will no doubt come of out change. As I say, the government has a responsibility to manage innovation and technology to ensure future sustainability.

I believe India has stated they don't want self drive transport in the future, because it would make so many people unemployed

Have I clicked on the wrong thread?

I'd like to know where they get the 35 grand figure from as an average wage, my partner works full time and maybe looking at half that figure for the year. Infact last year he earnt just over 16 grand before tax.

The national average salary is £29k. This includes London salaries so will be lower in many regions.

Oh my goodness all of these salty landlords terrified of paying extra tax 😂😂

I think in many cases people are deserving of what they have. I’ve worked extremely hard for what I have. I do understand, without meaning to sound patronising, that there are different levels of abilities and for some people there will be a ceiling as to what they may be able to achieve, through no fault of their own. For those that are able to achieve more but choose not to, they can’t really complain at those that have great success in life. Those that are highly successful normally work all hours and make big sacrifices plus take risks. So if it pays off, good for them. I don’t begrudge anyone success or good fortune.