Do They Know Something I Don't?

[carolegif]

I have just had an email from the Conservative Party telling me that Labout are going to tax my property.
I know house prices had gone up, but it never occurred to me that mine would have gone up from £200k to £2million in ten years!!
I don't live anywhere near London or Sandbanks!!

[Zacs-Master]

I'm not sure whether this is political spin but according the the Guardian, it (the so called 'mansion tax' will kick in at £2m. Even with tax (I'm not sure of the rate) you still stand to make a darn good profit. If you're a labour supporter it might give you a bit of a moral dilemma as the tax is supposed to go towards improving the NHS.

[carolegif]

I had my house valued earlier this year, at not much more than we paid for it. Nothing like £2m!

[Old_Geezer]

Layabout is going to want to tax you anyway :-)

I suspect you had a standard leaflet for your area, and they didn't write any for those in the hovel at the drive gate. They aren't recognised by the Tory estate owners ;-)

[aelmpvw]

i'd be happy to pay tax on my property if it was worth 2 million pounds

[Old_Geezer]

I couldn't afford the upkeep of a £2M place, let alone tax on it.
Income tax rather than domestic residence tax, is the fairer way.

[sandyRoe]

Congratulations! 2 million, eh? You could downsize and use some of the money to live a life of ease. :-)

[Zacs-Master]

Your question is very badly worded. I assumed, as others have done, that it was worth £2m.

[Retrochic]

Zacs-Master how do you conclude ' Even with tax (I'm not sure of the rate) you still stand to make a darn good profit. ' If the 200K home is sold for 250k no tax is due, if a 2million home is sold for 2.5 million then tax will be due. The seller has still made the same % profit -why should they be penalized?

We live in an inherited family home that costs a fortune to upkeep but has been in the family over 500 years. It would probably sell for well over the £2million mark should it ever have to be sold - why should we have to pay extra tax on it?

[Zacs-Master]

Retro, due to the poor wording I had assumed that carolgif's property was worth £2m plus, when they bought it for £200k.

[Old_Geezer]

Maybe because you have been fortunate to have had great wealth passed down to you, rather than you having done something to earn it ? It is a way of eroding the inequitableness in society in a relatively gentle way.

[Retrochic]

Old_Geezer we seem to have been handed down a white elephant that the government deem to be of National Importance but not prepared to pay a penny for its upkeep!

[Old_Geezer]

Ah, most unfortunate. Maybe you could suggest a compulsory purchase by the nation to your MP ?

[whiskeryron]

Stand by I am about to throw a bombshell into the arena
In view of all the furore regarding the so called ''bedroom tax'' do you think that Labour should introduce a plan to compel everyone with a large mansion where they are not using all of their rooms to share their house with deserving immigrants ? ( chuckle chuckle, ha ha ha )

[Retrochic]

Whiskeyron people assume because a house is worth a lot of money its big with twenty bedrooms. There are some 4 bed terrace houses in SW1 for sale for over 5 million and they are just 'ordinary' homes not mansions

http://www.primelocation.com/for-sale/details/31579144?featured=1&utm_content=featured_listing#uKiidSgIGkdddeF2.97

[Retrochic]

Old_geezer, if I were in a position to be able to sell I wouldn't mind if it was flogged off to a Russian drugs baron.

[carolegif]

No! M house is worth a bit more than we paid for it. Wonder if they are going to revalue all houses so we all pay more Council Tax! This will impact on both owners and renters.
Perhaps they think that everyone on their mailing list lives in £2million properties!

[Old_Geezer]

I do not believe that anyone should be penalised for not using something that is bought and theirs. They saved up for it and bought it, it's no one else's business. And no one should be forced to house others who are societies problem not any individuals. But please don't give the government !£$!$s any more ideas. Whilst I'm not keen on the "bedroom tax" I think the issue there is down to not charging for the house itself from the start but trying to base the charge based on how many live there vis a vis "bedrooms". It's an awful system. But there again so is local property tax. But it's so easy to demand.

[carolegif]

I agree retro. A cousin of mine bough a two bed flat (bottom part of a larger house) in Fulham in 1968 for a couple of thousand pounds. Wonder what it us worth now!

[Svejk]

go on then, I'll swap my bedsit for your castle, retro. ;o)

[Old_Geezer]

Oh, ok, I'll ask Konstantin if he's interested then.