Selkirk Posted April 3, 2012 Report Share Posted April 3, 2012 Hi The following is from last years budget which some may find interesting... The Coalition has identified buy-to-let as a way of solving Britain's housing shortage and wants to attract investment into residential property by major institutions, such as pension funds, and landlords. Buy-to-let has a controversial reputation after investors piled into the market before 2007 with cheap mortgages seeking to take advantage of rising house prices, only to dramatically come undone when values began to fall. However, the Chancellor believes that promoting the private rental sector as a solid form of income for investors can boost homebuilding. The British Property Federation, which has campaigned for tax changes on bulk housing purchases, said the Budget "went further than even the most optimistic within the industry could have predicted". Property agent CBRE forecast it could unlock £7.5bn of investment. Institutions such as Aviva and Legal & General have been heavily linked with creating residential property funds, but stamp duty pushing up the cost of buying or building large portfolios has impeded investment. However, it is now proposed that stamp duty on the purchase of more than one property will be calculated by the average value of the properties, not the bulk value. This means that if an investor buys 100 properties worth an average of £200,000, it will pay stamp duty at 1pc, equal to £200,000, rather than at 5pc, equal to £1m. The measure will cost the Treasury £560m over five years. George Osborne has also launched consultations on making it easier for residential investors to become a Real Estate Investment Trust, which would mean they do not pay capital gains tax. In the 2012 Budget, the Chancellor is proposing to scrap the 2pc entry charge that landlords must pay to become a Reit and scrapping the rule restricting Reits to stock market-listed companies. This will allow pension funds to turn property portfolios into Reits and potentially allow smaller buy-to-let landlords to benefit from tax breaks on capital gains. Simon Rubinsohn, chief economist at the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, said: "Changes to Reits and stamp duty will.... provide a revolution in how rented homes are supplied." However, the Chancellor also aims to stimulate investment through traditional housebuilders. As well as a £250m fund for first-time buyers, he will allow offices to be converted into homes without planning permission and auction public sector land for development. Cheers Selkirk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richlist Posted April 3, 2012 Report Share Posted April 3, 2012 I've already decided how I'm going to mitigate my Capital Gains Tax liabilities........I'm going to emigrate. There are numerous countries around the world that have a far more attractive CGT rate than the UK/EU......some even have a ZERO CGT rate. All I have to do is move abroad for 5 years.....sell the properties during that time.......I'm allowed return visits up to 182 days each year and will result in no CGT. I haven't yet made my mind up where.... New Zealand is on my short list but I'd prefer somewhere closer. Simples Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carryon Regardless Posted April 3, 2012 Report Share Posted April 3, 2012 Sounds like a desirable plan, apart from coming back for 182 days each year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richlist Posted April 3, 2012 Report Share Posted April 3, 2012 apart from coming back for 182 days each year. Yes I agree entirely but, I have a partner.....and grandchildren so it changes the perspective. The ability to be able to travel back for a few weeks each year is really quite appealing. I worked abroad for a number of years and usually only made one short trip back to the UK each year. In fact, the only thing I missed then whilst working away was the British Pub. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carryon Regardless Posted April 3, 2012 Report Share Posted April 3, 2012 the British Pub. and there are less of those than there used to be. I have the same thoughts of living abroad but we haven't found the place to be as yet. NZ was a dream for a good few years until I left it too late to be accepted. Then more recently I had another look and found while I wasn't watching that the age limit had increased, and had already missed that also. Is CGT zero in NZ ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richlist Posted April 3, 2012 Report Share Posted April 3, 2012 Is CGT zero in NZ ? Yes I believe so. Tax Cafe (www.taxcafe.co.uk) .....the people who publish Carl Bayleys best seller 'How to Avoid Property Tax' also publish a few books on the subject. eg * Non Resident & Offshore Tax Planning. * Tax Saving Tactics for Non Doms.......and my next bedtime read * The Worlds Best Tax Havens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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