Property in the UK

Property investors considering disposing of their investment through a gift or transfer to successors or by sale to reduce borrowings in the expectation of increasing interest rates may only have a small window to do so as experts predict capital gains tax will rise soon.

An increase in the current rate of CGT of 18% is considered inevitable. As Government borrowings are expected to top £180 billion for the current financial year an incoming Government, of any colour, is going to have to look at ways of increasing revenue and decreasing expenditure. The latter is limited by political acceptability and so increasing revenue is inevitable, according to Savills.

Property buyers in the UK rushed to complete before the end of last year to beat the end of the stamp duty holiday, it is claimed.

The fact that gross mortgage lending surged to reach an estimated £13.7 billion in December, a 14% rise from £12.1 billion in November, shows that they were eager to avoid paying extra tax if they had completed after January 01.