"The Treasury is understood to have drawn up plans to update the value of homes currently in the top three council tax bands F to H. All properties above a yet to be determined threshold, expected to be set at 1m-2m, could then face a flat-rate annual levy of perhaps 2,000-3,000 in addition to their existing council tax bill. If implemented, the revenue from this charge styled by some as a mansion tax would go straight to the Treasury."
"It has the air of trying to scrape a bit more money where you need it, as opposed to just grasping the nettle, she said. Once you've done that much revaluation, couldn't you just revalue the whole stock, and then actually update council tax? If not now, when? How many more decades do we have to be saying we're basing council tax on 1991 valuations?"
"The government should absolutely be rethinking property tax, and not least because this is one of the most economically efficient ways to raise funds for our starved public services. But doing this in a haphazard way risks perpetuating the inequalities our current system creates. Instead, they should put in the hard yards to design a much bolder and fairer tax and that starts with wholesale revaluation."
Council tax remains based on 1991 property valuations. The Treasury is proposing to update values for properties in top bands F to H and apply a flat annual levy of around £2,000–£3,000 to homes above a threshold expected between £1m and £2m, with revenues going to the Treasury. Experts warn that a partial revaluation would add complexity and risk perpetuating current inequalities, and argue for a wholesale revaluation and broader property tax redesign. Political concerns include backlash from households and impacts on asset-rich, cash-poor constituents.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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