Peter
Viggers, MP for the Gosport constituency, this week voiced
his concern at joint moves by Labour’s Gordon Brown
and Liberal Democrats’ Menzies Campbell to hit Gosport
with a new house price tax.
- New
house price tax say LibDems: Liberal Democrats have recently
endorsed new tax plans, backing a controversial new house
price tax. It calls for taxing “unearned economic rent” to “stabilise
the property market” by introducing the “satisfactory” Danish
model of a “national 1 per cent property tax”.
This would be on top of plans for a new local income tax
of up to 5 per cent on both basic and higher rates of income
tax.
- House
tax backed by Labour: This house price
tax already being introduced in the UK by Labour Ministers.
From April 2007, Northern Ireland residents will hit with
a house price tax of 0.63 per cent of their home’s
value every year (local taxes in the Province are lower
than in mainland Britain). Gordon Brown’s review
of town hall finances is actively considering how to implement
such a scheme across Britain. The Government has sheepishly
admitted that middle classes will pay more under such a
tax.
- Gosport
would be hit hard: Under a 1 per
cent house price tax, the average property in Gosport would
now pay a local tax bill of £1569 a year.
Mr
Viggers commented,
“I am concerned that both Gordon Brown
and Menzies Campbell are actively planning to introduce
a house price tax – and cynically tap into the rise
in property values in recent years.
“Families and
pensioners who have saved and improved their homes face
the threat of soaring tax bills, without any improvements
in their local services. Just because house prices have
risen doesn’t mean that local residents can afford
even higher local taxes.
“Law-abiding, decent people
are already struggling to meet the rising cost of mortgages,
utility bills and local taxes. I doubt that these Lib-Lab
plans for weighty tax bills will be welcome on our doorsteps.” |
