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.

Depends what you mean by underfunded...
https://ifs.org.uk/articles/exploring-regional-differences-public-spending-across-england

You should look at the SW, we aren’t a wealthy area on the whole, there are very wealthy people who live here but they don’t have businesses here on the whole, it’s just a playground. Yet, our housing costs are sometimes higher than that of the SE.

100% agree with this, the government must be aware of this surely and people will continue to to do this until labour put a stop to it and end penalising the working people

That is not correct. Yes there are counties in the North where 500k houses are luxuries. I assure you that is not the reality in many other areas. And it is not just about the SE. Since the pandemic rush house prices have jumped in areas that were previously afordable to unimaginable levels. Think 25+% increases a year. we thought it would cool off but no it carried on. We are searching in a large area of the country, think central to south west and even at 500 k cannot find a decent place that meets our needs. House prices must be brought down not pushed up. It would benefit everyone and would allow people to be able to move about. It is the real plague on today's living. Houses need to be treated an essential right not like stock market. There is absolutely nothing being done to address this insanity and it could be the easiest thing to tackle and help revive communities.

Jesus can she not do her job properly and look at the people and companies that aren’t paying their taxes. Those who have clever accountants utilising schemes to ‘donate’ to use that to write off tax. Those that own over ten homes. The supercar owners.

I live in the south east. I’m a nurse. My house is worth £500k. I am not rich. Stop taxing those working hard to provide a good (not luxurious) life for themselves and their children. Go after the tax dodgers and also the benefits bill. Work out what you are going to do about migration as climate change is already having an impact. In 50 years the world will look very different, but politicians don’t seem to long term plan. It’s all just firefighting instead of
looking at cause.

I mean that our schools get less per pupil funding, I mean that we have a dire infrastructure system. I have no bus service within a 5 mile radius.
Generations of unemployed families after mines and heavy industry closed.
Schools have worst GCSE and A level results in the UK, consistently each year.

Please don’t keep calling them grown ups.

Yes I’m an ex nurse too and in similar position to you. It’s frustrating

Letgoofmyblank · Today 09:19
My god! I was so pissed off at the failure to properly address the soaring welfare bill too. There’s a reason for this. Our country has made it harder to claim job seekers allowance so the workshy just claimed to be too ill to work instead. Stats show many people hopping from job seekers to health related benefits. Yes lots of people ought to receive health related benefits. But there are also an awful lot who are simply shirking work and faking illnesses.

Where is your evidence for this?

The DWP's own figure show that PIP fraud for example is close to zero. People who are given this benefit are not 'faking' illness or disability, in fact they have to provide evidence from healthcare professionals who are then contacted to provide more details about the claimant's health. Then the DWP conduct its own face to face interview. It is a really hard benefit to get.

But I assume it is easier to just repeat the right wing press propaganda against disabled people and people with long term health condition than use some critical thinking about why our country is in such a mess.

Starmer and the Labour government’s net public approval rating is currently -55. (Statists.com). The economy is flatlining, too much money is being spent on net zero and taxes are way too high. They are completely out of touch.

I’m pretty well educated but having read that article I can’t make out how it would work.
Can you give me your take on it please?
Wealth (in terms of property value) often doesn’t correlate to having cash to pay over in tax?

To be fair that’s exactly what they were elected to do!

Housing all these immigrants has to be paid for somehow.

Link?

There's data on education spending too. Outside of London (FYI London isn't the entire south) the highest spending is in the north.

Has all that happened since July 2024?

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.

Are these your own thoughts or did you read it somewhere and repeat here?

California is a home to Silicon Valley.
Total value of Magnificent Seven is $13.1T. For reference - China is $11.5T, UK $3.1T.

Average Meta Developer gets $1m pa! Of course California is one of the world's richest areas. It's a totally different set up of high tech high value economy.

Good luck with applying it here where 10% of top earners already pay 60% of all tax receipts whilst 10m claim various forms of benefits and almost one in four working age adults are economically inactive.

I was talking about your claim that unions fund the Labour party.... they don't, individual workers do....

Here we agree, Gambling companies especially, shouldn't be making political donations to any party, they made huge donations to the Tories and have continued that with Labour.

Gambling addiction is terrible but these donations are done to ensure Govts don't curtail their activities.

Iain Duncan Smith has called for the Tory party to stop taking donations from gambling companies.

It's just another excuse to hit those with something (in this case a house worth over 500k) its pure spite and jealousy. It will hit those middle incomes, middle classes who can't tax dodge like the wealthy. Many normal bog standard houses in the South East are worth over 500k, my rather bog standard 2 bed flat is worth almost 300k.

Just like inheritance tax changes, which will hit the likes of me and my siblings because our parents saved so they could leave their children something (just like their parents did) and didn't waste it going on cruises and expensive holidays.

I completely agree, thank you.

I don’t read the right wing press. This was from an IFS podcast.

Okay with annual property tax - will incentivise downsizing which will help when those individuals cannot manage their house.

It needs to be paid on empty properties as well, and it needs to be watertight so that property developers pay their way and there are no get outs for having multiple houses or for houses held in trust - so I would expect the Royal family to be stumping up for their multiple properties too. They can sell some if they like.

I think it needs to be in addition to council tax - council tax is for local services. Yes, that would be quite hard to take.

Also okay with houses not being given special status in Inheritance tax - it's where the majority of the wealth has been gained without being taxed before.

Both will affect me and my family in the next few years and it would impact our already fairly basic lifestyle, but we could do it.

Good luck with getting a 2 bed flat in London for less than 500k

Rightmove has 11,910 listings.

A normal house on here seems to be a 4 bed detached, people seem to think this is what a family should have nowadays or is that just MN