To think an annual property tax is incredibly unfair?

[Itchthescratch]

I come from an area with low house prices. It is great! My friends can generally afford houses even with lower salaries as the earnings:house prices ratio is better. Rents are also lower so they have proportionately more disposable income.

I have moved to a more expensive area where house prices are higher and people have really had to push themselves to buy a property. Salaries are higher but not high enough to make up the difference. They have had to pay more stamp duty , pay more interest and have less disposable income each month.

I am really struggling to understand why my friends in the South should also automatically be paying more property tax under the new proposals being suggested by Burnham supporters? What is the justification? They would love to buy a large detached house for £300k like my friends from home but this isn't possible. It feels like they are being double penalised.

Just to add house prices haven't risen in real terms in the area in live in now for 20 years so the value of my friend's houses is simply money they have paid in.

No it's attached to the house value.

I’m not wealthy. And I’m not a man. And I’m sure a good proportion of people who are paying a mortgage do not have Elon Musk levels of money either.

You don’t need Elon Musk levels of wealth to pay an annual charge of 0.48% of your property. The vast majority of us will be winners.

Trouble is it’s not just hitting very wealthy people, it will affect people in modest housing as well

So it's not what is fair or proportionate, its about winners and losers. Noted.

Any tax change produces winners and losers. I think it’s fair and proportionate, you don’t. We disagree. As usual.

Tax should be about raising revenue fairly and efficiently, not creating winners and losers based on the assets people choose to own, especially when that asset is their home and the government has moved the goalposts.

Everyone should have the opportunity to have a secure home, and, last time I looked, it was perfectly legal to own one in this country.

What asset tax do you think would be fair then? You can buy an asset if you like, but you ought to expect the government to look at that and think if you life in a big house you can afford to pay more tax than those who live in a smaller house.

The government has to raise money to pay for public services. It does so by putting taxes on earnings, rental income, dividend and capital gains, trust income, inheritance. It’s only fair they tax assets held too.

The applications for social housing will balloon! Buying a house will be seen as a mug’s game.

And you fail to recognise that single people one income are always the losers every single year, every single budget.

Now with lvt we lost the discount and pay more. Do you think that's fair? That if you do not find someone to marry or have children you for your whole life pay for it more than others. Never an exemption or helping hand ever.

Let me know if I’m mistaken but I didn’t realise this legislation had been discussed let alone announced.

Time for the poll tax. That is now fair, every working adult pays the same amount. Afterall most goes to social care so why shouldnt everyone pay their share.

I have no idea what tax policy this glib response is referring to?

But fair or not fair - a tax policy that costs more money than it saves is a poor economic decision.

We disagree because I believe people are entitled to housing stability, whether they rent or own their home. Those who have worked, paid taxes and contributed throughout their lives should not be expected to lose that security simply to fund general government spending.

If someone needs to contribute towards their own care home costs, that is reasonable. But forcing people to take on more debt against their home, or worse still sell it, in order to fund wider public spending is not. I don't think most people would consider that reasonable.

In your winners and lowers world we end up with the extraordinary situation of people losing their own housing stability to ensure someone else wins more benefits. I don't believe that's what the welfare state was ever meant to be.

With the size of the welfare state most wont qualify, it's private rental and flats with unknown services charges for workers.

@bellic - enough tax will never be raised given the number of takers.

In your winners and lowers world we end up with the extraordinary situation of people losing their own housing stability to ensure someone else wins more benefits. I don't believe that's what the welfare state was ever meant to be.

No we don’t. We end up with people in £ multi million properties paying a commensurate amount, not as currently less than someone who owns a three bedroom semi in Blackpool.

It’s not just houses in the south which cost more! I live in an incredibly expensive town in North Yorkshire and there’s a house half a mile from me that’s on the market for £7mil! And that’s one of many round here. Also despite my house being social housing, my next door neighbour bought their house £560k which is average for a 4 bed here.

The Conservatives will be back with a huge majority - well in the SE anyway by the looks of things!

They are trying to con people into moving up North, nice try Burnham. Labour wants to redistribute the wealth, they’ve taxed workers to death to pay the bennies of all those sat on their arses. That didn’t work, so now they are trying to physically move Southerners into financially compromised areas. Doubt many are up for that, I’d rather rent than live North of the Watford gap.

Yep… here comes the swing!

Fingers crossed but not with Reform splitting the vote.

The owner of the three bed in Blackpool may live in an area where there are more expensive local services. A local tax should be raised and spent locally. Isn't this what true devolution looks like? So is the person in a three bed in Blackpool relatively wealthy? If so, why can't they pay for the local services that they and their community use?

Then the government should be able to look at fancy cars, where you shop and your heating bills and make calls on your ability to pay extra tax. I saw you buy those special olives, extra tax for you. You seem to have jewellery that looks expensive, lets start a jewellery wealth tax. Where does it end?

Not your main home, council tax or poll tax is fairer, everyone should be paying for local services and a crack down on all those illegal shops and the dodgy council subletting going on