General Election 8th June – Who on earth do landlords vote for?

2% tax on rental income ! Do you think all the PRS hating political parties need another idea to punish us all. 2% will be just the start. Then with the now inevitable left leaning parliament following red Theresa and the faux Tory debacle it will be 3%, 4% until all the money tree fantasists have shiny new hospitals, schools, pay rises, no tuition fees etc.

Reply to the comment left by "Cautious Landlord" at "12/06/2017 - 10:55":

In essence it appears to be a good idea, but humans are progressive so that's the start and before you know it its VAT 2 at 5-10% as is the insurance tax has been.
Its pointless have a tax system then constantly dreaming up new ones to then pay the tax you would have at Income tax....i know the 'marketeers' in today's world like to sell it as an illusion but the reality is that Income tax must rise to 21% as a threshold.
Don't forget we have NOT lost NO agent fees yet, there's another time bomb of rent rises to come yet if we pay agents then claim it back via monthly rent!!
Its all plus, plus, plus....rents will have so many extras in we'll be HMRC agents and not collecting anything for all the risk and pain we suffer

Reply to the comment left by "Cautious Landlord" at "12/06/2017 - 10:55":

I wouldn't disagree but just like VAT it is paid by the consumer (Tenant) and will be as transparent as VAT. It'll be no different than say fuel duty and its impacts on the price paid at the pumps.

Alok Sharma is the NEW MP for Reading West & Minister of State for Housing and Planning

http://www.aloksharma.co.uk/

He’ll be the latest Target for Landlords, NLA etc

Reply to the comment left by "Ian Narbeth" at "12/06/2017 - 09:55":

I set out below the text (annotated for privacy) of a letter I sent to the defeated Tory MP Victoria Borwick

QUOTE Section 24 and why this Tory did not vote in Kensington

I am sorry that you have lost your seat to Labour. I have voted Conservative in every General Election since 1983. I voted for you in 2015. This year I did not vote and wanted to explain why.

I am a solicitor working in the City and have a flat in Notting Hill. I am also a landlord and with my wife provide decent homes for over 50 tenants. My family home is in ... Bernard Jenkin’s constituency. ... Since 2015 I have been registered to vote in Kensington .....

In a word, I did not vote because of Section 24 of the Finance Act which removes tax relief for mortgage interest for individual landlords. It was brought in without consultation and, adding insult to injury, has been spun by the Treasury as being fair and a means of helping first time buyers. It has not helped anyone except large corporate landlords.

Section 24 has been heavily criticised by the property industry and by financial experts. It departs from the principle that income tax should be paid on profits and that Profit = Revenue less Expenses. When the transitional provisions are over and the full effects of s24 apply, it will be possible for some individual landlords with mortgages, in a bad year, to pay tax of over 100% of their income. It will even be possible for a landlord who breaks even (i.e. makes no profit in a year, perhaps because of a rental void, a bad debt and/or a hike in interest rates) to have to pay tax, at the rate of infinity. In what rational Universe is a tax rate of infinity fair?

If you do not know how s24 works I can explain and can give examples. However, you along with the rest of the Tory MPs followed the whip and voted for it when the Finance Bill was passed.

I was in correspondence with Bernard Jenkin last year and, if I may, will quote from my emails to him:

“You will have seen last Saturday’s [14 May 2016] Daily Telegraph where a Treasury minister (I lay odds it is David Gauke) said he wanted to see landlords squeal. Remind you of Denis Healey making the pips squeak? I am flabbergasted Tories are attacking their own with such glee. Does Gauke really think he will get a single vote from non-Tories for this betrayal of his Party’s friends?”

“Whilst this obscene law remains on the statute books I will not be voting Conservative and I will speak out against any Tory who talks about the Conservatives being a low tax party. There are plenty of other landlords who feel as I do and I expect more who will do so once their accountants explain that their retirement plans have been dealt a fatal blow….

Please tell the Treasury, David Cameron, George Osborne et al that betraying some of their most loyal supporters is a mistake of epic proportions. I suspect you would not have won the Election last year if a word of this policy had been breathed beforehand. The view may have been taken that “they have no-one else to turn to”. If so, that may backfire. We may decide not to vote. It is also grossly cynical and tells Conservative supporters that the party takes them for granted.”

I went on to say, with what now seem like prophetic words:

“I now consider myself an ex-Conservative and will not be supporting the Party or attending fund-raising events. Sorry it is ending this way but please explain to Osborne that when you knife your friends in the back they are not your friends any more. When you start losing people like my family and me I think perhaps you have a problem.”

Via Bernard, I received two pat answers from the Treasury defending Section 24. It remains on the Statute Book and accordingly you lost my vote at the Election.

There were several reasons, the main one being Theresa May’s hubris, for the loss of your seemingly comfortable majority but I would venture there were at least two dozen landlords in Kensington who, like me, did not vote for you this time. This means you may have lost your seat because of section 24, the final straw that broke our backs and turned Kensington red. It gives me no pleasure to be the cause of your misfortune but I feel utterly betrayed by the Party I have supported all my life.

I do not know if you have ambitions to return to Parliament. If so then perhaps you can tell your former colleagues who voted for section 24 what a devastating effect it has had." END QUOTE

I have copied that letter to Theresa May with this covering letter:

"Your post bag is doubtless bursting with criticism and commiseration at this time and I suspect you will not have time to read it but I attach a copy of a letter I have sent to the defeated Kensington candidate Victoria Borwick. I wanted you to know that George Osborne and David Gauke, whom you have just promoted, are the direct cause of her downfall.

The introduction of Section 24 Finance Act which is hurting landlords like me is not helping tenants and first time buyers (contrary to its stated purposes). However, it’s an ill wind that blows nobody any good so you may be interested to learn that Section 24 is helping the super rich who don’t need mortgages and it is helping large corporations who can put up their rents as individual landlords sell up.

A similar policy was tried about ten years ago in Eire but repealed after a few years. Given the hung Parliament it will be even more difficult than before for you to be seen to be “helping landlords” by repealing s24 and so I fear this disastrous piece of legislation will have to remain until its defects become obvious to socialists everywhere including the Red Tories in the Conservative Party."

Not holding my breath for a positive reply and TM has rather a lot on her plate at the moment but there is a certain satisfaction in saying: "I told you so!"

Reply to the comment left by "Ian Narbeth" at "14/06/2017 - 10:13":

Excellent work Ian.

Well done Ian, i will be writing to my New Labour MP as we lost our Tory one, i will also be writing to new New housing minister, and 2 other MPs where i have property.
Good Luck everyone, keep up the pressure

http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/full-list-landlord-tory-mps-who-voted-against-making-properties-fit-human-habitation-1537725

Seriously? They'll be asking us where Shergar and Lord Lucan are next! We'll be linked to the so called Islamic State and accused of being the primary cause of climate change. We truly are societies hated. They seem to be laying all manner of social ailments at our door. It's totally loopy!

I don't think anybody is going to listen to us at the moment. We are just too hot to handle. The Millwall of the small business world. "No one likes us, we don't care".

I'm sorry to dampen everyone's passion but I really don't think anybody has the balls to do anything until they see the fallout with their own eyes: until they see the local council bills for hotels/B&B's and hostels have gone through the roof, until stories appear in the papers about families living in one room, until what we already know is going to happen actually happens.

Only then will the government decide to step in. They may even manage to paint themselves as heroes for doing it.

Theresa May isn't going to do anything right now that even smacks of helping us. I honestly feel it's a case of waiting until the inevitable fall out happens and hope for the U-turn before the four years is up.

Sorry to be so negative but after today's reaction to that awful fire I can't believe landlords are being blamed for that too.

Hi Pamela. Where and how are we being blamed? I was waiting for that to happen but haven't seen anything yet.

Reply to the comment left by "Dr Rosalind Beck" at "14/06/2017 - 19:02":

Be patient Ros, the blame will come.