Fiona Bowers’ Post

If you're concerned about a potential rise in council tax and would like a helpful tool that will help you budget for your household bills and expenditure, you can use this interactive calculator to see the projected council tax rise in your area from 1 April 2024. #taxrises #counciltax https://lnkd.in/enBNSmF8

Wales, and Council tax reform. I certainly understand the constant drumbeat for reform of Council Tax but I'd encourage the Centre for Cities to be careful what they wish for. Everyone thinks going to a straight-up property value-based system is great right up until you see what happens when values shift violently from one assessment to the next, which property values in broad markets can be prone to do. A thing I said once: "market value property taxes are the rocket fuel of gentrification." https://lnkd.in/g6fZqqK6

Holiday homeowners could soon face double council tax Holiday let and empty homeowners in the region could soon face higher council tax bills and bin collection charges as government prepares to hand local authorities more powers to raid holiday homes, warn accountants and business advisors Whitley Stimpson Ltd. Jonathan Walton, Director at Whitley Stimpson explains: “We understand that these proposed changes may have significant financial implications for some of our clients. Our team of experts is ready to provide advice and support to ensure our clients are well-prepared and can make informed decisions regarding their tax obligations.” It is understood one in four councils in England have already made their minds up and agreed to double the levy. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/er8f64FW #accountants #advice #counciltax

Late Saturday 2nd March, the Government slipped out a Budget pre-announcement that the Chancellor would launch a £300 million tax raid on the holiday lets sector. Some sources suggested £500 million. We think that this likely to be an abolition of the FHL Furnished Holiday Lettings Allowances, which was muted by the OTS (Office of Tax Simplification) in November 2022. See report link below. It might be something else but we think that this is the most likely. We are seeing a veritable tsunami of legislation, taxation and regulation bearing down on the sector at the moment, and all before a Statutory Register is in place to provide real, not emotive data. We will respond in full when we have more detail, but if we are right and it is the abolition of FHL Rules, then it will damage the sector and time will show that it will not bring in anything like the Chancellors expectations in monetary terms. This and the planning interventions, launched before really good data is available, will shrink the sector, and that will have repercussions for local rural and coastal economies as well as businesses like pubs, restaurants, cafes and visitor attractions that the sector supports, in that fragile eco-system, the visitor economy. To follow this in detail, sign up for a our free weekly newsletter simply by sending an email to chair@pascuk.co.uk and putting Newsletter in the Subject line. https://lnkd.in/eGWXe_a6

Here we go…. So along with the second council taxation, the additional fire risk guidance, the planning permission Gove announced, potential registers and licenses, we now have this…. We already saw how many long term rentals disappeared when the section 24 took away mortgage interest from tax allowance, if they remove FHL allowance more properties will just be listed for sale and investors will just move money elsewhere… #holidayhomes #cornwall #property #FHL

Council Tax rates due to rise by 5% in England and Wales 🏘 According to reports, another blow to households as Council Tax bills are set to increase by an average of 5%. The increase will increase our average council tax bill yearly by just over £100 in an already tough economy for many families. The increase is planned by most local authorities in England as the majority are planning to increase by 5%. Councils in Wales are also proposing an increase of between 5% and as much as 10% in some areas, however, Scotland has already committed to freeze rates. Read more: https://lnkd.in/eNxs2Bm4 #CouncilTax #localauthorities #localauthority #council #moneytips #moneymatters #moneysavingtips #money #costofliving #financialeducation

💡 Anticipation builds for Spring Budget with focus on housing and tax reforms As the UK gears up for the upcoming budget announcement on March 6th, experts across various sectors share their insights and hopes for measures that could address some of the pressing issues facing the nation, particularly in the realms of housing and taxation. Full story: https://lnkd.in/enmMAF6z #Conveyancing #SpringBudget #HousingTax

Holiday Let Owners be Prepared: Your Taxes are Changing from April 2025 If you own a holiday home, you will be impacted by tax changes starting from 6th April 2025. One of the Autumn Budget giveaways was to reduce the top capital gains tax rate on the sale of residential property to 24%, down from 28%. However, current Government plans are to abolish the beneficial tax treatment for Furnished Holiday lettings (FHLs) from 6 April 2025, impacting individuals across the UK. The headline changes to the tax treatment for FHL’s listed below. Of course, these could change at the Autumn Budget 2024 if a new government comes into power, watch this space. However, the fact that these tax changes are punitive and will mean a potentially larger tax bill for FHL owners, now is the time to consider your options before 5th April 2025. #holidayhomes #landlords

Autumn Budget 2024 | What Are the New Taxes for Landlords? #ukpropertymarketnews #autumnbudget2024 #ukbudget #landlordtaxes #taxchanges #ukfinance #budget2024 #autumnbudget2024 https://lnkd.in/gSpTwEAc

Anyone excited for the upcoming Spring Budget? So what might come up? Tax cuts are very likely with the anticipation of a General Election soon to follow... A 1p cut in income tax or an unfreezing of the income tax thresholds to reduce fiscal drag. Neither of these have been specifically trailed by government representatives but they could be being kept as rabbits to be produced out of the Chancellor's hat. Another possibility is that the increased £250,000 nil-rate band for stamp duty land tax which is due to expire on 31 March 2025 will be extended or even made permanent. A partial reversal of the corporation tax hike which came into effect in April 2023 perhaps? There has been widespread speculation that something significant will happen on inheritance tax (IHT) — maybe even its abolition. This would seem an odd tax to cancel for a government wanting to appeal beyond its core elderly and wealthy support. According to the Institute for Fiscal Studies only 4% of death estates actually pay IHT. Abolition is also not straightforward to achieve because IHT is integrated with other taxes, particularly capital gains tax. Something on the high income child benefit charge (currently a bit of a mess) must be being considered It is also hoped that having made many announcements on research and development relief over recent years this will be left alone — though there are rumours that the new merged regime may be delayed. One significant tax which is likely to escape relatively untouched is VAT. The fact that this is a pre-Election Budget also means that, whatever the result, some of the measures will have a limited lifespan. The new Government will I am sure promptly embark on a fiscal event followed by a further Finance Act. Whatever emerges before and after the Election we will be on top of it so you can be too.