Chancellor to Introduce VAT on Property Purchases?
In mid-December, when questioned, Gordon Brown refused to rule out the possibility of placing VAT on property purchases. If Brown does decide to take this course of action, buyers would have to pay thousands of pounds extra in tax. This would obviously particularly affect Buy-to-Let portfolio purchasers heavily.
Economists see the move as an attempt to slow down, what is seen by many as a booming property market.
The Chancellor when pressed on the matter commented:
"I don't get into speculation."
Labour have made no pledges not to place VAT on house purchases, the Chancellor said:
"We will keep all of our election commitments, all the commitments we have made on taxation."
If you consider the stamp duty already charged on purchases, the introduction of VAT could result in significant sums being required when purchasing a property.