This article in The Metro cheered me up:
Although such a levy has been ruled out by both David Cameron and chancellor George Osborne, their Liberal Democrat partners are all for it – as are 57 per cent of those questioned in the Harris Interactive poll for Metro.
The same number would support higher levels of tax on foreign-owned second homes, while 45 per cent back the idea of an increased levy on empty properties. Some 70 per cent of those polled would back fines of £100,000 for tax dodgers who own properties worth more than £1million.
A Lib Dem spokesman said: "It’s good to hear that people support a mansion tax. Liberal Democrats have long favoured a mansion tax and it is something we will continue to campaign for, in government and at the next general election."
The poll of 1,164 over-16s living on mainland Britain was conducted online by Harris Interactive between September 25 and October 1.
Monday 8 October 2012
"Two thirds back mansion tax on £1m homes"
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7 comments:
And in other news, people want someone else to pay taxes, not them.
S, I agree, there is an element of that, but the Homeys do this thrice over, they want everybody else to pay income tax, NIC, VAT and then that money to be used on propping up rents and house prices.
Landlords pay income tax but not NIC and don't have to charge VAT. Home builders pay income tax and NIC but are zero-rate for VAT. And so on.
Sorry, classic politics of "the other".
Of course lots of people want "the rich" to pay "more tax". As soon as people start to see that this may affect them sooner or later they go cool on the idea.
If the question had been "mansion tax in return for a lower VAT or income tax rate" you might have a bit more of a case to say it supported your world-view.
BE
BE, clearly, this poll does not indicate that people share my "world view". But it still cheered me up, which is all I actually said :-)
Good point, well made :-)
Mansion tax could help capture some of this.
http://www.france24.com/en/20121007-rich-businessmen-pulling-out-france-tax-hit-looms
SB, exactly. The Old Lie was always "we can't have a Mansion Tax because of Poor Widows therein" and this week's lie is "we can't have it because it would deter wealthy foreigners from moving here".
Clearly, there's a limited supply of mansions, so if the mansion tax finally prises out the Poor Widows, then that means loads of houses will be available to for wealthy foreigners to buy, at a suitably lower price.
If anything, they'd welcome it, and it's going to be a lot less than the extra 30% French income tax anyway.
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