General Election 2019: Labour pledges 20 per cent property tax for foreign buyers
Labour has pledged to put an extra 20 per cent levy on foreign companies buying property in the UK.
The party has said it would charge firms and trusts from abroad looking to buy properties an additional 20 per cent on top of existing stamp duties and surcharges.
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Shadow chancellor John McDonnell said this latest instalment of Labour’s plans to overhaul the current tax system was needed to “raise essential revenue for our public services”.
The additional tax is expected to raise around £3.3bn per year and would be used to help cool the housing market, “prevent illicit flows” and raise revenue for the Treasury.
Labour’s pledge states: “A company purchasing residential property benefits from the UK’s infrastructure and legal framework, and ought to pay a small levy to acknowledge that”.
The Tories have accused Labour of “lashing out” because they have “no credible plan to get Brexit done”.
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The Conservative Party confirmed earlier this week that it will charge companies and individuals that are not tax residents in the UK a three per cent levy on property purchases in order to raise around £120m a year.
The Liberal Democrats manifesto also contains a pledge to increase stamp duty for foreign buyers of residential property.