Four London councils, Wandsworth, Richmond, Westminster and Kensington & Chelsea, have written a joint letter to the Government opposing plans for a new "mansion tax," MyLondon has reported. The changes, due to come into effect in April 2028, would see owners of homes worth more than £2 million pay a new annual charge of £2,500. The letter argues the four boroughs could end up paying £275 million a year between them through the new tax, more than half the total revenue expected to be raised across the UK, as part of Prime Minister Andy Burnham's wider "fairer share" campaign to redirect funds to less well-off areas of England. The letter raises concerns that landlords will pass the additional cost on to tenants, and that homeowners whose house prices have risen but whose incomes have not will be unfairly affected.
Cllr Paul Swaddle OBE, Leader of Westminster City Council, said high property values
"do not always translate into high household incomes, and it risks creating unfair outcomes for residents whose property value does not reflect their ability to pay."
Cllr Robert Morritt, Leader of Wandsworth Council, said:
"We won't get to keep a single extra penny raised, with Wandsworth residents hammered to pay for those elsewhere. Why should an additional tax on our residents' houses be spent so far from their homes?"
Cllr Gareth Roberts, Leader of Richmond Council, said the Government
"is seeing Richmond residents as cash cows that they can milk to fix funding gaps elsewhere in the country, irrespective of whether they can afford to pay this new tax."
Cllr Elizabeth Campbell, Leader of Kensington & Chelsea Council, said:
"This is not a tax carefully targeted at the very wealthy. It lacks nuance and will hit pensioners, families and long-standing residents whose homes have risen in value while their incomes have not."
Read Luke Donnelly's article for MyLondon in full on their website.
