Chancellor considers taxing foreign home owners in bid to curb bubble
The UK is considering imposing new taxes on foreign property owners in a move to check what many see as an emerging housing bubble in London and the South East, reports Sky News' economics editor, Ed Conway.
Chancellor George Osborne is investigating the possibility of enforcing capital gains tax on foreign owners of British properties at the Autumn Statement.
The Treasury has already provisionally costed the measures and is waiting for a final decision from the chancellor.
Capital gains tax (CGT) sees Britain's home owners paying 18 per cent – and usually 28 per cent – if they make a profit when reselling all but their main home. Non-resident owners are, at the moment, exempt from CGT on any property.
In London, the average property cost £393,462 in August, up 1.9 per cent on the month and up 9.3 per cent on the year, according to Land Registry figures earlier this week.