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.

Me too. God, I wish every day that Rishi was back in control.

How would someone from Gaza get here legally? For example I’m sitting in Gaza getting bombed. I can sneak out of Gaza to Egypt. My son is in the UK. I need asylum. He is willing to host me, pay for me etc. what do you suggest the legal route is?

theres alot of bullshit reporting around what they get.
IF they get gym vouchers it’s because the local government have recognised having people hanging around for months on end just waiting is no good for anyone.
with £7 a week to spend it doesn’t go very far to keeping yourself occupied. You can’t work your just waiting.
devil makes work for the idle hands and all that.

if the government processed claims quicker, they could be working and not living in hotels.

Think of all the public sector jobs that could be eliminated, and the costs saved, if we simplified the tax system. Merge income tax and NI. Eliminate Road Tax and add to Fuel Duty. It's so simple. I wonder who might be trying to stop it from happening?

What’s interesting is that this is a tax on properties sold, not bought. So would it apply to inherited (and then sold) properties too, in a way that stamp duty doesn’t? Sneaky.

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/immigration-system-statistics-year-ending-march-2025/how-many-people-are-returned-from-the-uk

im not. It’s facts.

brexit made it more difficult for us much more difficult to manage.

At least he could speak and looked good! Not the most important attributes on the surface but he looked like a PM and didn't buffer when forced to go off script.
The press conferences with Trump + Starmer were toe curling, Starmer was atrocious.

I think it’s a good idea but it does need to take account of SE normal house prices.

It doesn't matter that the values are outdated. Relative to each other within a council area the house prices won't have changed much, and it is this that determines the banding, and hence the tax.

The trouble with her proposals is (a) if they are a percentage of the property value then the valuation would have to be redone every year, and (b) she wouldn't really be taxing wealth.

Two people have a property worth £1m for example. One has no mortgage, the other about £800k mortgage. Are they both paying the same tax, or is one of them exempt because they only actually own £200k of property.

Does she even understand that many London homes owned by oligarchs are nearly 100% financed by loans (because money- laundering regulations)

Why is Gordon Brown advocating a hefty gambling tax then? I thought the unions were Labour’s financial masters?

Oh, you’ll be wanting a public school boy them. Smooth rather than particularly intelligent.

Absolutely nothing about their recent policies is ‘right leaning.’ I’m not sure you understand what that means.

I used to think like this until I met a family who didn't legally work (ie all cash in hand) so paid very little/no tax, had 4 children they couldn't afford, lived off good will, food banks and benefits.

Yes, they lived in an over priced rental and we own our >500k house but why should we pay for other people's poor choices and refusal to work ?

This thread shows a real lack of awareness of the lack of wealth in other areas of the country.

500k properties in my entire COUNTY would be extremely nice houses. I don't know anyone in my county who lives in one.

The fact is that huge wealth is being hoarded by house-owning in the south-east. Yes some people would find this kind of wealth tax tough. But everyone wants to tax a person who is 'richer than me'.

Likewise building new housing. Our water infrastructure is fucked. We can't build new houses and flood the market with social housing. Even this morning the Guardian is reporting on Lake Windemere being flooded with sewage! We have some of the most polluted waters in Europe and are also massively at risk of water shortages.

The fact is that a wealth tax has to start somewhere and a house worth half a million is a massive asset, and twice the average house value.

I'm late 50s and we live in the SE town my husband's from. The look of amazement on people's faces when he says he's [insert town name] born and bred. Literally no one from here can actually afford to live here. My eldest had to move away to get on the property ladder.

Something has to be done about house prices - which also impacts rental prices.

Pleased to see the article also refers to taxing the owners of the properties to contribute to the local infrastructure. A huge percentage of the population where I live are students in HMOs who are exempt from Council Tax. Buy-to-let landlords raking it in while our local infrastructure breaks.

I imagine you were the first to have a go at her for cutting winter fuel allowance, which goes to some very comfortable boomers (I'm a boomer btw), or addressing the disability benefits bill for younger folk with mental health issues. We finally got a government full of 'grown ups' and this is your response?

You can get a lot for 500K in Kent...

4 bedroom detached house for sale in Brecon Chase, Minster on Sea, Sheerness, Kent, ME12

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/155090984#/?channel=RES_BUY

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/164479850#/?channel=RES_BUY

etc, etc!

No, because two-thirds of houses will be below the threshold. In our case, we will save on council tax while the value tax will presumably keep the value of our house down by a few thousand - to a natural value. That will keep our house sellable against bigger competitors, so that we will feel safer about trading up with three young kids. It will boost appetite to move for people like us, but in a safer and sustainable way.

I really don’t understand the people on these threads saying that the money has to come from somewhere - read: from anyone who pays PAYE, owns their own home/has anything above the basics. Where will the incentive be to live and work in this country? As these people will watch their money going on tax to support an unreformed and wasteful public sector, benefits system etc. We’re now in a situation where working and owning property at the lower end of the wage scale sees people worse off than those on benefits.

People want more social housing but the people in those houses won’t have this property cost. As usual the few supporting the many, but they are pushing it too far with this. Working should pay, reform that and the housing system and we’ll all be better off. Do this and people will leave and change their habits.

Of course the unions fund Labour but they also receive a large amount of funding from other individuals

The only problem is in many areas houses that only 4-5 years ago were considered expensive at 300 to 400k, think detached 4beds etc are now pushing 500k. In many areas 500k is not a luxury, and I am not even talking about London or SE. There is so much greed, entitlement and speculation in the housing market. With an additional tax on what is no longer a house value that only the rich can afford, they are hitting again the same small subsection of population that already pay high taxes. Also have you seen the steep rises in council tax in some areas? Every 10 years it amounts to about 10% of the house value in some areas. That is not sustainable.
Ever since they came to power they are squirming about to come up with more ways to tax more the people who are making a decent income and are already heavily taxed. All the big talk about taxing wealth has amounted to nothing. The same corporations that are paying almost nothing in tax carry on and we subsidise the workers salaries Someone with a 500k house in todays market is not wealthy. Same with inheritance. Regular people might have savinga to pass on from their earnings after tax. they are thinking to tax that more again. Meanwhile the billionaires and lords of this land pass on insane wealth paying 0 tax. Yet, if this forum is anything to go buy, people are just buying the bullshit ans turn against each other.

I’m in Scotland. Where I live, £500k could buy a mansion. Most people live in smaller houses.

but in London, £500k would only buy something basic. and would be bought by a “normal” family who may well be budgeting hard to even afford it in the first place.

A bit rich considering Starmer was partly privately educated and went to Oxford!
I don't care where anyone was educated, I just want them to be competent. You seem to be hung up on the type of school someone went to.

As mentioned previously, the Govt want older retirees to downsize so that the younger families can buy the bigger properties but this new Tax, if it is implemented, will encourage those people to stay put! Makes no sense!

I’m in Scotland. Where I live, £500k could buy a mansion. Most people live in smaller houses.

but in London, £500k would only buy something basic. and would be bought by a “normal” family who may well be budgeting hard to even afford it in the first place.