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As we sit and ponder our economic future whatever our personal circumstances I cant help but think of what genuine fairness should look like in society, what is the true role of government. Are we really taxed fairly. Should a safe place to live and grow our families cost an arm and a leg. These thoughts came to mind. How much does tax avoidance does it cost the average hard working citizen. How many large global companies pay little or no tax off the income they earn off the back of citizens of the country they may be operating in. How much of this deficit has to be made up by the average citizen who has to pay more than 25% of their income (incl VAT) to keep their government working. This brings us to Cash and the tax lost in cash transactions. The huge expense we incur to print the notes and coins, the cost to police and protect the currency from counterfeit and money laundering. So here is one possibility, reform to a electronic society from which the government of the day takes a minute percentage of each and every transaction - no more Personal Income Tax - just a transaction in/out cost. No more cash means no more money laundering. If a large global company sells a product in the UK a small percentage of the transaction immediately goes into government coffers before it goes offshore. But back the system with a tangible source of trust. UK housing is ridiculously overpriced for the average family home. It is unbelievable that we hear day in day out that we have no supply of homes and therefore prices must go up. Yet less than 4% of the entire UK available land is built on. Release a fair and reasonable proportion of the land and the supply will be their immediately. This triad relationship that exists between local authorities and government and property developers and other land owners with only self interest at heart is questionable at best. It must open up and be more accessible. Self build is the way forward but on a reasonably priced piece of land that is not tied up in the greedy hands of developers and damaging leasehold agreements it should only be freehold. Leasehold is sinful. But the land should only be made available to genuine buyers who live and work in the UK. Not to every external buyer or property billionaire looking to make a fortune out of residential property. If they must they can go commercial. Savers have been hit so hard for so long its ridiculous. We should have the opportunity to get a decent return up to a limited amount of savings. Of course some mortgage users are paying almost zero interest on the mortgage while those of us saving for a deposit on a home get next to nothing. And finally, we all deserve a place to reside and feel safe at a reasonable price.

Tax bill of £420k. https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/feb/15/hmrc-wins-tax-case-against-bbc-presenter Never mind, just sell a few BTLs. Taxy, taxy .....

Hi I am reading los of confusing things about the future of BTL. Can someone tell me once and for all if it is true that tax will be applied to income, rather than profit, from 202? Various online articles claim that after 2020 everyone's tax bills will go up because they will have to pay tax on the entire rent received. However my tax adviser keeps telling me that there are no changes planned and I will still be able to claim relief and only pay tax on net profit! Which is correct? Also, if my advisor is wrong and I will have to pay tax on full rental income, my plan would be to switch from an interest only mortgage to a full repayment mortgage as there would be no point of using the interest to offset tax and then I can just get on with paying off the capital. Does that sound logical? Thanks Bimlam.

Hi I am reading los of confusing things about the future of BTL. Can someone tell me once and for all if it is true that tax will be applied to income, rather than profit, from 202? Various online articles claim that after 2020 everyone's tax bills will go up because they will have to pay tax on the entire rent received. However my tax adviser keeps telling me that there are no changes planned and I will still be able to claim relief and only pay tax on net profit! Which is correct? Also, if my advisor is wrong and I will have to pay tax on full rental income, my plan would be to switch from an interest only mortgage to a full repayment mortgage as there would be no point of using the interest to offset tax and then I can just get on with paying off the capital. Does that sound logical? Thanks Bimlam.

Excuse my naivety, but (in these times of austerity) local councils always seem to be needing more money for social care, pensions, etc. What is stopping them from buying some scrap land, granting planning permission and then selling the land at a huge profit? Profits would go to reducing the council tax bills for everyone. My rough calculations (yours may differ) indicate that this would knock of somewhere in the order of £100 per new house. This would be more in areas with higher housing need. More houses + lower tax, surely a vote winner?

If war has been declared on BTL with the stamp duty excess going to communities blighted by second homes then surely (Does it only benefit second home owners?) - will second homes be targeted in a future budget? What will they do next to make sure that holiday homes do not swamp out real communities? And is it too late for many parts of the country?

HMRC have issued a public consultation document for "businesses, individuals, tax advisers, professional bodies and any other interested parties involved in the letting of residential property" to comment on Replacing Wear and Tear Allowance with Tax Relief for Replacing Furnishing in Let Residential Dwelling-Houses. The direct download link is here and comments are open until 09/10/2015 if anyone would like to write in to wearandtear.replacement@hmrc.gsi.gov.uk on the subject.

Hi there, I own a 2bed house in East London worth 320k now which I'm lucky enough to have paid off, and unfortunately recently become single so would like to move more centrally closer to my work in Westminster, ideally cycling distance. THE PLAN I can scrape together around 100k deposit if I save hard this year, and think I can get 200k remortgage on current property (which I would then rent and write off interest against tax). So I'd pay around 800 pm for 20 years on this remortgage (including tax write off, assuming I can include agent charges in tax write off too). I think I could then get a 300k mortgage on a central property, which would cost c. 1400 pm and which I could finance through rent on my current property. This leaves me with a bill of 800pm on a new property worth c 600k, the old property still mine, and not too much risk I think. (might not be able to let old priory consistently so need a buffer but I can save c 1500 pm ok so would have 700pm buffer fund, could also buy mortgage insurance in case of losing my job) My questions --Do you see any big issues for my plan? --Could you recommend any good advisors to discuss with? --Have you any recommendations for good areas to buy around the 600k mark? (I like Kennington, elephant, Vauxhall, Angel, Pimlico, would like a nice view, trendy feel and easy to go out from.) Thanks for reading and really appreciate any help! TL;DR I'm looking to buy relatively centrally at 600k. Any recommendations for areas and can you sense check my plan?

I found this interesting poll and debate: Taxing wealth: the return of the politics of envy?What do you think about "Mansion Tax" or other ideas to tax wealth?

And replaced with a new tax: the Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT) Property price Rate Up to £135,000 0 £135,001 - £250,000 2% £250,001 - £1,000,000 10% Over £1,000,000 12% This was announced back in October, but I can't find any threads on it, probably buried by the referendum stuff. At the moment, UK stamp duty land tax is levied at 0pc for homes worth up to £125,000; 1pc between £125,001-£250,000; 3pc between £250,001-£500,000; 4pc between £500,001-£1m; 5pc between £1m-£2m and 7pc above £2m. A key difference is that the new Scottish LBTT tax is only on the value above the threshold, so it is slightly less insane than the current system. http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/mortgages/2014/10/stamp-duty-bill-for-average-properties-in-scotland-to-be-slashed The effect on business considering where to build large offices may be significant. This change may turn out to be good for individuals but bad for the Scottish economy.