Axe The Tenant Tax

Axe The Tenant Tax

12:52 PM, 2nd May 2018, About 6 years ago 2

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Axe The Tenant Tax was a campaign set up by landlords Chris Cooper and Steve Bolton.

The main purpose of the campaign was to raise awareness of a new form of taxing businesses, but applied only to individual landlords. “Axe The Tenant Tax” group also raised funds for a Judicial Review of the tax reforms but the case was disallowed, i.e. it was never heard by the Courts.

Perversely, these tax reforms completely ignored the fundamental principles of business taxation, i.e. that income minus expenses = profits. Instead, finance costs incurred by landlords running their businesses would be progressively disallowed over a period of four years, then the disallowed finance costs would receive a tax credit of 20%.

If that sounds complicated, let me assure you it gets worse, much worse in fact!

Some private landlords could actually end up paying tax even if they don’t make a profit!

Government also states that one in five landlords will be affected, but that doesn’t tell the full story. The truth is that the landlords worst affected are believed to provide around 80% of all private rented accommodation. Their only options are:-

  • restructure their businesses
  • sell much needed rental property in order to pay down debt (by evicting tenants who cannot afford to buy)
  • increase rents
  • face real prospects of bankruptcy

Dr Rosalind Beck wrote a comprehensive report on the matter which Government have chosen to ignore. You can download the full report in PDF format via the link below.

https://www.property118.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/6G0YKMd1Wf.pdf

Property118 members have been avid supporters of the lobbying of Government to overturn this ludicrous policy. One member was so frustrated about being stone-walled by his MP that he paid for a billboard to be put up to grab her attention. Property118 has since started a fund-raising campaign to pay for more billboards to be errected. Please see the link to the Just Giving page below.

https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/section-24-billboard

As an aside to the lobbying, Property118 has also helped hundreds of landlords to restructure their businesses in order to optimise their tax position. We have also produced several “Case Studies” which can be read via the page linked below.

* Landlord Tax Planning

 


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Comments

Anon

13:05 PM, 2nd May 2018, About 6 years ago

If the Judicial review never happened, what happened to all the money raised to fund it?

Mark Alexander - Founder of Property118

13:08 PM, 2nd May 2018, About 6 years ago

Reply to the comment left by Anon at 02/05/2018 - 13:05
Hi Anon

I suspect the bulk, if not all, of the money was used to pay the costs of the legal team which put the case together and appealed against the decision to disallow the Judicial review.

I don't know whether there was any money left over, and if there was how it was spent or distributed. You would have to take that up with Chris Cooper and Steve Bolton.

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