The Treasury and Angela Rayner’s housing ministry are assessing proposals from experts like Oxford academic John Muellbauer to reform the nation's dysfunctional system. The suggested framework seeks to abolish transaction-stifling stamp duty and convert council tax into an annual household levy based on a flat percentage of home values. Although former chancellor Rachel Reeves implemented a mansion tax targeting roughly 150,000 properties over £2m, it preserved the traditional council tax bands. Such percentage-based reforms would notably increase ongoing costs for professional households across London, the south-east, and affluent suburbs.
Key points
Stamp duty currently calcifies property transactions and prevents the UK housing market f…: Stamp duty currently calcifies property transactions and prevents the UK housing market from operating efficiently.
Transitioning to a flat percentage tax on home values would sharply increase annual prope…: Transitioning to a flat percentage tax on home values would sharply increase annual property levies for wealthier suburban and south-eastern homeowners.
Resolving the systemic housing crisis requires owner-occupiers in higher-value homes to t…: Resolving the systemic housing crisis requires owner-occupiers in higher-value homes to trade recurring annual charges for the abolition of transaction levies.
Sources checked by our analysis pipeline: 1
John Healey’s critics on the right and left accused him of dodging the big questions in his first budget. The chancellor failed to announce reforms that might tackle some of Britain’s chronic problems, they say.
Healey’s scatter-gun budget, as the Resolution Foundation called it, was more about politics than economics, and unapologetically so.
Housing was one area of policy that took up a considerable chunk of his speech. And yet the measures amounted to very little, if a test of his policy changes was to ask how different will the UK be at the next election. Or, as that date is only two and a half years away, 10 years from now.
Housing is more than a single element of a complex economy. It is both its driving force and a disease eating its way through the body, from the inside out.
More than 80% of global investment is in property and the vast majority of that is in residential. Countries that once had a more communitarian approach, such as France and Germany, with a highly regulated mix of social,…
Healthcare professionals are entering congressional races in unprecedented numbers to challenge Republican policies and rising medical expenses. This influx of medical candidates aims to counter perceived scientific misinformation following political alliances between Donald Trump and vocal vaccine skeptics. If successful, the upcoming legislative session could seat a historic total of 25 physicians on Capitol Hill.
Driven by anger over worsening classroom conditions, teacher shortages, and mounting living expenses, student-led demonstrations have expanded into a broader movement backed by labor unions and climate groups. While crowds fell from previous peaks, authorities mobilized heavy security forces across the country to prevent the looting and clashes that plagued earlier rallies. The unrest has also crossed borders, prompting complementary student demonstrations across Germany and Italy.
The defeated politician signaled a potential early political comeback, aiming for an executive bid prior to 2030 following his previous loss to President Lula da Silva. While currently residing in the United States, he justified his departure by alleging political persecution at home. His remarks renew unsubstantiated challenges against the legitimacy of the recent national vote.