As the government announce an official investigation into the house building sector, it appears that the buy to let sector may also come under the spot light. The problem with UK property is the fact that the number of new house builds has always seriously lagged behind the increase in demand. This has created a situation with more and more people chasing few and few numbers of houses on a relative basis.
In what is a worrying sign of the problems associated with the Home Information Packs (HIPs), which the government are trying to force upon the property market, it has been revealed that there is a legal loophole which may allow homes to be sold without a pack in place. More problems for the government as this debacle is quickly turning into a comedy of errors!
There is much speculation in political circles at to whether Gordon Brown will use his forthcoming appointment as Prime Minister to distance himself from the past and take Labour back to the people.
How ironic it would be if the new leader chose to reduce the taxation burden on the UK population, when he has been responsible for some of the largest tax hikes in UK history. Can he really let go of the Treasury reigns when he moves?
The Inland Revenue have announced that anyone with an offshore bank account will need to declare account details within the next two weeks, or face possible fines. Even though any accounts which are declared will be subject to the repayment of back taxes, there will be fines and other charges if the Inland Revenue need to investigate themselves.
There is a case before the House of Lords which has the potential to blow open the husband and wife business partnership arrangements which have been ongoing for many years. HM R&C have taken their claims to the highest court in the land, the House of Lords, to seek a favourable ruling in their fight to change the “interpretation†of existing laws.
As we approach the 1st June, the day when Home Information Packs (HIPs) will be introduced, the Conservative Party have failed in a bid to have the project cancelled. They lost a recent Commons vote, where they argued that the packs we too expensive (costing upwards of £300), would delay movement in the housing market and were badly thought out with some areas of information for the HIPs not available as at 1 June.
