A goodly mixture of economic myths and dog-whistling in this clip, but nothing that LVT wouldn't sort out. If all those super-rich were paying super-high LVT on their "investments" either they'd sell up (not that that would make much difference, except to those who don't like having super-rich foreigners living in the UK) or they'd pay their LVT and then, who cares (apart from the aforementioned...)?
As one commenter points out, this problem is nothing new in places like Cornwall, but no-one takes any notice until it begins to bite in London, probably because, in Cornwall, those super-rich "foreigners" are the same Londoners who are now squealing about high prices. Also because, as this clip amply demonstrates, there is no understanding of the actual cause of the high prices, which is the increased buying power of the foreigners, instead ascribing it to lack of supply.
Rumours, Half Truths and Myths
1 hour ago
3 comments:
It's not just the 'increased buying power of foreigners' from the comparative reduction in the price of GBP. It's also foreigners recycling back into the UK all that GBP we spend on Toyotas (say) to garner 'rents'.
Plus there are quite a few buyers from elsewhere that trust their governments even less than we do and look at the UK as a stable place with reasonably sound property rights.
Not that the foregoing is an anti-LVT argument. Far from it. It's a pro LVT argument.
Agreed, esp L's point about foreigners spending their GBP on sources of rent instead of on goods and services.
Lola, by "the increased buying power of the foreigners" I meant the fact that the foreigners are richer than the natives, both in London and Cornwall, not that the buying power of the foreigners has recently increased due to the fall in the value of the sterling, but your point about recycling sterling still holds good. I wonder how much of that recycled sterling originally went abroad as "aid".
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