Tax changes create property headaches
Property buyers are paying too much tax or abandoning purchases because of the complexity of new rules on stamp duty, according to the Telegraph. It reports that accountants and solicitors are struggling to interpret the new guidance, which was released in full only two weeks before it came into force. It details the case of one buyer who is said to have paid almost £13,000 too much as the result of incorrect advice from both his lawyer and the Treasury. Meanwhile, a report by Deutsche Bank suggests tax increases for landlords will cripple the London property market next year and cause house prices to fall across the country. The bank said investors could expect returns to fall to between 0 and 0.5% as a result of George Osborne’s tax changes, and predicts that around 35% of landlords in London will sell up as a result.
Source: The Daily Telegraph (18/06/2016)