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.

We pay about £250 per month in a rural location. Irrespective of the CT bands, the price of CT has gone through the roof since COVID and COL with reduced services.

But she’s nowhere near as bad as Liz Truss was. Nowhere near. Liz and Kwazi announced proposals that everyone had told her were madness and would crash the bond market, but she did it anyway. She was such a fucking idiot it was mindblowing. Labour are still streets ahead of the Tories. Which is why I think Reform will get in and they are the biggest idiots by far.

Older generations who benefited from lower taxes and lower house prices,

The basic rate of income tax was 33% when I started work with 9% NI on top. The basic tax rate has steadily decreased over the last 40 years. House prices were lower but interest rates were almost three times the highest point they’ve hit in the last 17 years.

It’s really tough for young people now largely because the employment market is awful and graduate recruitment seems to have collapsed and there’s no need to embellish their hardship by making up nonsense about taxation.

I did and was told they cant do anything until the properties are sold again. So these people all benefit from paying lower council tax saving thousands.

Oh yeah, gormlessly parroting it is the same as delivering it. Of course.

Righto.

For more benefit

Council tax bands are a mess. There are houses near me that although small, cost an absolute fortune due to location. Thing is - they were dirt cheap 30 years ago so are band b. Meanwhile my cheaper house has a higher rate.

Rachel from accounts and Two Tier will leave no stone unturned to destroy what’s left of this country’s economy.

Believe or not OP, there are a few houses worth £500k or more North of Watford also.

The more incompetence and fiscal illiteracy they show, the more taxpayers leave the this country. Guess what, comrades, there coming for you next, because guess what, they’ve killed the golden goose.

We are already no1 in Europe for foreign investment and 3rd in the world.

Lower taxes? we tried that for 10years of the Tories, e.g corp tax the lowest in Europe.... Yet had pretty much zero growth.

Govt's can kick start growth with capital expenditure, rebuild roads, hospitals, rail, power etc.... but that requires money... how does Govt get money....

UK growth currently equal highest in G7......

Anyway, read the article, civil servants asked to look into property tax changes.... no the distorted headline in the OP that its a hard and fast plan to do so....

It seems from the article that someone in my position would pay more council tax perhaps £800 pa. These funds would go to cash strapped local authorities. We are a household that has spent £570 in the past year on new wheels and tyres after encounters with potholes. If my £800 means that roads are safer and cars are cheaper to run, then I think I would be better off paying the extra Council Tax.

I'm bound to say that she's clueless but tbh all the others before her have been just as useless. She just continues the trend. No courage to make real change.

This new sales tax is arbitrary given that she cannot control who sells and when. Just like SDLT.

Similar to others. Scrap SDLT. Scrap council tax. Introduce an annual property tax (the gov can figure out the rate and any allowances). But also add a Poll Tax. There is nothing wrong with the concept of each adult contributing to local services.

Council tax should be based on number of bedrooms not value. Why should people have to pay for for living in a nice area with where prices are high? It doesn't cost more for the council to service the area just because it's a desireable place to live- probably the opposite...?

The new tax is proposed to be paid on the sale of the house so stay where you are and you won't need to pay it... why all the frothing about how it will force people out of an area? It won't!

But also add a Poll Tax. There is nothing wrong with the concept of each adult contributing to local services.
Yes, because that worked so well the last time.

Great idea. Poll tax went swimmingly the last time we tried it. 🙄

Thatcher's poll tax miscalculation https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-38382416

The issue is that last time it completely replaced rates meaning that there was no difference in the amount paid by the rich and poor for ALL of the services to be paid for. But properly implemented, it would be much lower since the biggest contribution to services would be from the wealth tax levied on house value.

Think of it this way. You pay the same for your pint of milk as the Prime Minister does.

As I said, all previous polo's were jus was useless as Rachel.

You imagine wrong but here is a great Venn diagram and also some actual facts:

• 25%-30% of children are on fee assistance
• many independent schools charge around 6K per year ie less than state funding per pupil

FYI we live in a 150K house and pay school fees.
Your assumptions are miles off.

I agree with @Rhayader broadly speaking. Owners, including me, should pay some fixed percentage of the value of property every year. The amount is up for debate.

Where I lived in America it was about 2.5% but our local public services were fabulous. You get what you pay for.

Americans also pay a federal CGT upon selling their homes (which can be avoided by investing the profits from your primary home into your next). California imposes a further one. Does this cramp the economy? Well, California is the world’s 4th richest nation after the US, China and Germany so I think that answers the question.

What it does, of course, is reduce inheritances. Can’t go there in Britain, can we?

PS Along with annual property taxes I would scrap transaction taxes associated with buying and selling a house.

I dislike cliff edges. They aren’t fair. A % hits everyone equally. Measures to provide relief for those on low incomes would be possible.

I have no slack in my finances. I’d have to move. But moving is expensive too

I'd say no to property taxes tied to sold prices. But land value tax would be absolutely the best they could do. It's fairer, it'd raise more tax from all, etc.

My dad told me about this the other day. I was hoping he was just trying to wind me up. But it looks like it’s true. I can’t wait for them to be voted out. They will keep squeezing the middle classes until there’s nothing left, and no incentive to strive for anything.

By the metrics that Labour accused Truss of crashing the economy, Labour have done so twice. The worst bit is they doggedly hang on to Reeves, at least Tories got rid of Truss!

Where do you see that the UK has the highest growth in the G7?

I hate to credit Donald Trump with any good news, but the House of Commons Library informs me that for Q2 the Us grew at 0.7 and took this honour by dome distance

Edit: dome = some

"south east property market is not a piggy bank for the rest of the country to dip its hands into" ah but parents paying school fees were seen as fair game to be piggy banks! Now it's just the turn of other people ......