Scottish property taxes soar to record highs

According to this report in April more than 1,000 higher earners in Scotland fled to the rest of the UK after Nicola Sturgeon increased taxes.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2024/04/24/more-than-1000-higher-rate-taxpayers-flee-scotland-hikes/#:~:text=More%20than%201%2C000%20top%20earners%20flee%20Scotland%20after%20tax%20rises&text=More%20than%201%2C000%20higher%20rate%20taxpayers%20fled%20Scotland%20to%20the,a%20Treasury%20analysis%20has%20estimated.

The tax burden will increasingly fall on middle and lower income earners.

Any taxed paid for by landlords is passed to tenants in increased rents.

This is how any business operates. Production costs are paid by the end user.

Reply to the comment left by Cider Drinker at 04/07/2024 - 11:30
And taxes raised by Labour are paid by middle-income earners. This report says Italy has woken up to the fact that if the country attracts millionaires it increases the tax take:

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2024/07/03/how-meloni-lured-europes-super-rich-to-debt-ridden-italy/#:~:text=According%20to%20Henley%20%26%20Partners%2C%20which,desired%20country%20destination%20in%20Europe.

I personally know someone who sold his properties in Scotland and moved to England to avoid Nicola's taxes. And I also personally know someone who has just invested in Italy for similar reasons.

Reply to the comment left by Beaver at 04/07/2024 - 11:42
Looks as though the financial services people are off to Milan rather than Edinburgh as well:

https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/markets/article-13597887/The-Italian-Job-Fear-Labour-tax-crackdown-sees-UK-private-equity-bosses-flee-Milan.html

Reply to the comment left by Beaver at 04/07/2024 - 11:53
And other people are concerned about labour's tax changes:

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/tax/non-doms-leaving-britain-tax/

I'm guessing that some of these people will end up in Italy, others in Switzerland or Dubai. That will decrease the total tax take at the same time that the tax burden rises and the consequences of that will be visited by labour on middle-income earners and retired people.

Thankfully, I don't own property in Scotland and have held off buying any more houses in England for the last couple of years.

I'm sure that Labour will try to implement Scottish laws to protect tenants and force more landlords to sell up, thus creating the same situation in England.

I don't see me investing any more money in the UK rental market.

The eye watering amount of SDLT I now have to pay and the anti landlord sentiment of the government has put me off.

They have won the battle and forced me out of buying any more houses, so they can pat their selves on the back and pay to house the tenants when I sell.

Any spare money I have will now be invested overseas. I see no reason to buy another dump of a house and turn it into a great house for someone to live in.

The UK government is its own worst enemy, they are slowly destroying the UK.

I'd like to hang on to my UK houses, and will hang on to see what Labour have in store for me before I decide if it's time to sell up and invest elsewhere.

I'm guessing its going to get a lot worse for me, so watching closely.

Reply to the comment left by Wayne Broadley at 04/07/2024 - 23:06
I wouldn’t invest in Scotland at the moment either. I have real concerns about labour proposals that if we want to get our properties back we might have to go to court and the courts then decide whether our families will be disadvantaged more than the tenants’ families…

No way would that encourage anybody to invest in property.

But at the same time labour only got in because they moved to the centre and right, just as Tony Blair did. And they haven’t got their proposals through parliament yet. Hopefully when they try there will be someone there with the intelligence to learn from the SNP débâcle in Scotland and realise that if they do something radically stupid, as the SNP did, then they will make things far worse.

Whilst many landlords will no doubt have concerns about the change of government I personally feel pleased that the Scottish electorate saw through the SNP and saw them for what they really are.

Reply to the comment left by Beaver at 05/07/2024 - 09:54
Looks as though Angela Rayner is in charge of workplace reform:

https://www.standard.co.uk/news/politics/keir-starmer-labour-john-prescott-rachel-reeves-government-b1168902.html

As I understand the situation Angela Rayner was directly elected by the labour party as deputy leader so Keir Starmer can't actually get rid of her however radically left-wing she might be. I'm guessing that was a bit like when Gordon Brown/Tony Blair had to take Two Jags Prescott...the man who wanted to build millions of new homes south of the Thames and announced that only to be told by the water companies that there was no water there.

But if this is right and Angela Rayner is supposed to be looking at worker's rights (guessing that's Uber and the gig economy etc.) then hopefully she's been steered away from housing policy.

That policy about the courts deciding whether or not you could get your house back on the basis of whether it would be better for your family or your tenant's family was truly barking. Plenty of people who could rent houses out would no longer be able to do it and many landlords would have no choice but to evict before it came into effect. It was a stroke of genius worthy of Two Jags Prescott.

If Keir Starmer moved Angela Rayner away from housing policy it was a smart move. But maybe it's what she wanted to do anyway.

Reply to the comment left by Beaver at 05/07/2024 - 12:53
Apparently Angela Rayner is still in charge of housing policy...

https://www.housingtoday.co.uk/news/angela-rayner-confirmed-as-housing-secretary/5130333.article#:~:text=Angela%20Rayner%20has%20been%20officially,to%20take%20it%20into%20government.

Wonder what she will do with the right to buy your council house for a 30% discount or the right to buy your council flat for a 50% discount.