“Those drawing on wealth or income from additional properties are disproportionately rich and wealthy”

There are many MP's and Lords who are disproportionately wealthy due to bribes, 2nd incomes, cash for questions, directorships, foreign aid trips to corrupt governments and expense fiddling.

I would suggest that the housing crisis is their fault, not mine.

That is getting really dangerous. I wonder if the Ltds are going to be the next target? If Hammond has a little bit of common sense he will dismiss that stupid opinion of an equally stupid think-tank.
Is there anyone in this government who actually see a broader picture of the housing disaster in this country? I do not think so.
Time to start selling?

So shall we comment on Laura's analysis? In order to further her education, perhaps.

Sadly, you are talking about a generation who have grown up in a world where there is little to instil self-discipline, all lifestyles have equal validity, and the concept of deferred gratification is derided. Not only do they want it all, they want it now. Looking around them they see that the benefits system, instead of being just a safety net for the genuinely unfortunate, means work has become optional and life can be one long holiday if you know how to exploit the system (and those mugs whose hard work pays the taxes which pay you to do nothing). This becomes a self-perpetuating state of affairs because the human body is designed for use and deteriorates with prolonged inactivity. The satisfaction of achievement, the joy that comes from a job well done or mastering a difficult new skill, the pleasure of getting something you've saved up for and the satisfaction of achievement and the knowledge that you have made a contribution to society are their own reward. Life isn't, never has been and never will be fair, and looking back over many years I can see that many of today's inequities actually result from well-intentioned efforts to make it fairer.

Of course LTD companies will be next. I couldn't find a way to incorporate anyway, but I will sell my small portfolio as soon as I can. I've just had enough. As a pensioner I don't need the stress of continually worrying how and when the government will next try to destroy my retirement. The only reason I haven't sold up already is that I have some very vulnerable tenants and I can't bear to evict them.

It's not surprising that this country is a mess financially with people like him running it. My dad left four of us £700.00 in his will. I did as Deborah described from nothing, working very hard, foregoing fancy cars and holidays etc. Now sort of retired, no debts, reasonably comfortable from rental income and pension and reasonably asset rich. Most whingeing youngsters I know today are up to their eyeballs in credit through buying the fancy cars, big tv's, lifestyle they can't afford. Fortunately my kids have grown up with right ethics and make me proud. My local MP is a typical Tory hypocrite, in my opinion, was let off his dodgy expenses claim etc. not worth pursuing was the excuse!!!! Never gives a proper answer to any questions I ask. All of these reports are so flawed its very worrying. I find it all so very frustrating today, but I'm just a grumpy old man I guess. Scream, Scream, Scream.

Disproportionately wealthy compared with most MPs, Lords, landed gentry, captains of industry - even surgeons - I don't think so. Anyway, since the Tories sold off most of the council houses (which housed a huge proportion of the population in the past), where are all the "ordinary" people supposed to live if there are no private landlords? These days the media seems to have forgotten that it used to be "normal" to rent (council if you could get it) for your whole life - or live in a single rented room if you were single.

If section 24 was applied to companies the owners of those companies would be better off. I don't understand why people are concerned about that.

Companies offset their mortgages against income and pay 19% tax on the profits. If finance costs were no longer an allowable expense, but a 20% tax credit was applied to finance costs as it is for individual landlords, that's a 1% positive differential.

Next year, corporation tax is scheduled to reduce to 18% so the differential would double. The year after corporation tax is scheduled to fall to 17% so that would be a further improvement.

I can envisage Government looking into changes to prevent individual landlords incorporating but that's all the more reason to get on with it now surely?

But most of my tenants have more actual income than I do (not more capital, OK), but they chose to spend it differently.

I doubt they'd use exactly the same tax credit as they do for non-incorporated Landlords. I would guess it would be 10% (being a nice round number).

But this is all pure speculation unless you know otherwise.