Reeves' plan to tax houses over 500k

[FridayFeelingmidweek]

Just been reading news about Reeves's plan to tax https://www.theguardian.com/money/2025/aug/18/rachel-reeves-stamp-duty-property-tax-council-tax

AIBU to already be worrying about living in the south east? Surely this will force people either to never move, or move away from SE/London.

I'm glad that there is finally something that isn't negatively affecting areas outside the SE but does she actually understand that 500k isn't much down here - 3 bed terrace at best.

They’ve changed for everyone.

@Closetoknowing could you expand on this? Because of course they haven't impacted everyone in the same way.

Approx 38% are - disastrous. And it’s only growing.

What about the conservatives, are they any better?

Of course they aren't. A lot of the problems we are seeing are to do with austerity and then throw Brexit into the mix.

But the problems we are facing are going to take years, decades to fix. No idea why anyone thinks any gov could fix things in a few years. We need cross party solutions.

Approx 38% are - disastrous. And it’s only growing.

So not half as you claimed...

Not sure exactly what you’re searching for tbh. Yes house prices have gone up by a lot. Yes they are unaffordable for some compared to their wages. That’s not good.

That bears no relation to increasing income tax. People need to pay more to support the society in which they live. Instead of always expecting others to pick up the tab.

It is quite a complex relationship, however. The paper goes on to say that: “There is a charge to answer that the productivity struggles of the UK, Australia and Canada in the last two decades reflect, in part, that macro-policy decisions have driven an economic system based on taking the rewards from scarcities (a ‘rentier economy’) rather than growth driven by innovation and effort (an enterprise economy) (Piketty, 2018).”
Many people see their property as their main investment and the safest way to ensure a decent financial future; “buy land. They’re not making anymore” - the rentier approach - rather than risking money on business investment via the stock market. Private pensions for the individual fall into the latter category and result in uncertain and often disappointing returns, despite the tax relief and government exhortations. Those people with large company/ public sector pensions, including politicians, fail to grasp this simple fact that mortgaging yourself to the hilt is the safest investment for your old age, resulting at the macro economic level in poor labour mobility, disincentives to downsize (particularly with equity relief schemes increasingly available) and lack of business investment and innovation. This is never going to change until pension investment is made significantly more attractive than housing investment for the risk averse, private individual. Of course, those in receipt of generous state pensions get a double benefit from having a housing asset too. So maybe they should be taxed more on their housing?

How much are Income Tax, CGT, dividends tax, IHT though?

I absolutely see this. And I agree with it 100%. Those of us who are fortunate to be able to work and earn well, who can afford to buy a house (above 500k at that), should be contributing more than those who can't work, didn't benefit from a good education, or can't afford to get into the housing ladder.
As I've said previously, I feel privileged to be paying tax at the level I do. I also hope that, before I reach pension age, that state pension should be means tested. Too many people think that society should be equal (i.e. everyone pays the same) but actually it should be equitable over equal.

We won't get long term thinking and cross party solutions though. Depressingly a lot of the electorate are stupid.

I didn’t claim half

Well yes, they voted Labour in.

Does this include state pension?
We need to cut the number of people in receipt of state pension. It needs to be means tested as soon as possible. This whole "we paid in" rhetoric is crap. You pay in for now not the future, state pensions aren't a savings account.

It’s the older generation, who are going to be voting for reform.I really don’t want them to get in, but l also don’t want Labour or the conservatives to get in either, who have shown their true colours both of them.It’s worrying times, people don’t know enough about reform, but feel desperate, so will vote for them!

Not sure exactly what you’re searching for tbh. Yes house prices have gone up by a lot. Yes they are unaffordable for some compared to their wages. That’s not good.

That bears no relation to increasing income tax. People need to pay more to support the society in which they live. Instead of always expecting others to pick up the tab.

Rather than spouting off rhetoric, just take a moment and think about what you saying.

Housing costs today take up more of younger people's incomes because they are high vs salaries. Outright owners who tend to be older are less impacted & high housing costs disproportionately impact lower income households. So no, not everyone feels it in the same way.

High housing costs which takes up a higher proportion of a lower earners income means increasing tax on said income tax is not quite the money spinner because of course there is a correlation.

An ageing population means a higher % of people receiving benefits.

@Closetoknowing I thought you were @Chickenbone123

No state pension isn’t defined as ‘a benefit’.

And I disagree. People that have paid into the system their whole lives, of course should get a state pension at the end of it. Not fcking means tested either. They’ve paid into it. Yes the population is ageing.

But if the politicians got a handle on it and -

• increased income tax,
• decreased the welfare state,
• cut immigration and
• addressed Uber rich people’s and corporate tax avoidance,

we’d be in a much more preferable place.

But let’s put vat on children’s education that’ll keep the plebs quiet for a while.

Not this one! Worryingly a lot of young men have been taken in by them.

Plenty of data? Really? Myth upon myth. Working-age social security spending as a percentage of GDP isn’t much more now than it was before the 2008-2010 recession. What has gone up, and continues to spiral, is the cost of state retirement pension and pension credit. Those with an axe to grind lump the figures together and call it "the welfare bill". Now, I know I'll wait a lifetime for an apology, but you might at least check your "plenty of data" before you start correcting peopl

😂

If you get this property tax then it’s going to be a hell of a lot more than 50%

@Justchilling07 there is no excuse for voting for Reform. It will just be a huge waste of money & push us back further.

Homeowners are already burdened with excessive taxes. Keep draining people of their resources until there's nothing left—sounds like a brilliant plan.

I know I’ll never move, and neither will anyone I know—we’ve invested too much in what we have.

@Letgoofmyblank This is about your post where you talk about feeling regretful over inheriting property from your parents, questioning your worthiness, and wondering what you did to deserve such an advantage. It comes off as quite entitled and bitter. If you truly wanted the things you think you deserve, why not work toward a high-paying career? Why wait for your parents to pass away to inherit their wealth? Or take an even bolder step and propose they give all their wealth to you or the poor? That way, they’d end up in poverty themselves, with no one to help them—not even their own child. If it troubles you so much, you could even request to be excluded from any inheritance. It might be worth having an honest conversation with them.

No state pension isn’t defined as ‘a benefit’.

Except it is a benefit

And I disagree. People that have paid into the system their whole lives, of course should get a state pension at the end of it. Not fcking means tested either. They’ve paid into it. Yes the population is ageing.

Plenty haven't paid enough though which matters when the demographics change. And you are the one bemoaning the numbers on benefits...

**

"In 2024/25 an estimated £166 billion of Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) benefit spending is directed at pensionerss_– around 58% of all benefit spending in Great Britain. Within the £166 billion total directed at pensioners, State Pensions account for £138 billion (83%). Disability benefits for pensioners are forecast to total £14 billion, housing benefits £7 billion, and means-tested Pension Credit £6 billion."
"Total benefit spending directed at pensioners in Great Britain is forecast to increase by almost 10% in real terms by 2029/30, reaching £182 billion (at 2024/25 prices)."

Demographics matter & we already have more over 65 yr olds than under 16 yr olds.

😂 probably because the conservatives, did enough damage, in their 14 years of power, which some people are conveniently forgetting or agree with.
The best out of a bad bunch, springs to mind.

Most people ageing today have paid enough. And later on because so many people are on benefits today, they’ll have full NINO stamps too. Except I expect the population will be too high with few net contributors , and the pension age will be so high by then, fewer people will reach it.