Protecting your finances now Labour are in charge

I don’t think any of us are “taken in”. Second home ownership started years and years ago and priced many Welsh people out of homes locally, then the entire West.

AirBnB is responsible for many privately rented homes no longer being available for long term lets.

Being a landlord can be a nightmare, but we need private long term letting and more social housing.

The flats remaining empty in Birmingham is an utter disgrace.

Because people have compassion and believe in equality doesn’t automatically mean they despise wealth. We need wealth producers, a strong economy, entrepreneurs, but until everyone is housed in adequate suitable homes no one should be responsible for pricing locals out of their own towns and villages.

If everyone had their own home, I wouldn’t care if others owned 20 second homes and used them as holiday lets!

I don’t think you have considered the facts Lizzie, just the attention-grabbing headline as presented by Merion which appeals to you. The underlying facts show a different story. My post is the factual one, but believe what you wish - it’s of no consequence to me.

The second home we let to locals for 13 years then holiday lets for 3 years. We worked very, very hard to buy both our properties, never claimed any benefits and never got any handouts. I am very proud of that. As we were self employed the income from that house is our pension.

I rent out a modest one bedromed flat which came to me as part of my divorce settlement in 2016. The rent is low, even by the standards of the area of the town in which it is situated. During the pandemic, the tenant couldn't keep up the rent payments because he had no work. I agreed that he could pay as and when he could and eventually he repaid all that was owed. The amount I earn is declared each year on my tax return.

I am lucky to have worked throughout my life and never claimed benefits but do not regard this as being significant, Primrose53. Many contributors here, at both ends of the political spectrum, could claim similarly, perhaps.

As has already been said, where is the compassion for those less fortunate? I would prefer to pay more tax and see our various services improve for everyone, including all of us as we age and the generations that follow which include my children and my grandchildren.

If everyone had their own home, I wouldn’t care if others owned 20 second homes and used them as holiday lets

Same Cossy👏👏👏

Thank you LizzieDrip.

The numbers come from local authorty data, all explained on the website.

I make no apology for believing that everybody has a right to to a home and that basic housing needs should take priority over holidaymakers and second homes owners.

But this discussion is not really about that. It is about the constant drivel being posted here about imagined Labour tax plans.

I can see the Telegraph is in meltdown over this, particulary Camilla Tominey - an agenda no doubt driven by the greedy, tax fiddling Barclay family:

www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2024/06/19/barclays-telegraph-accounts-hole-takeover/

There really is no need to keep peddling their propaganda. Doing so may cause fear in people with low and modest incomes which is irresponsible.

I have posted before that there are a lot of accountant and solicitors rubbing their hands in glee at the extra business coming in by frightened folks trying to protect their assets.

I think many of us are sufficiently intelligent to work out the areas where our finances are vulnerable to attack by Labour without resorting to believing drivel. You might believe that the right of everyone to a home takes precedence over anyone’s right to enjoy a second home or take a holiday in the UK in a holiday let. I think you are the one peddling propaganda and I agree that it is irresponsible.

Neither of you are peddling propaganda, you are not right or wrong, you are only coming at the same issue from different perspectives. What is wrong though is to suggest that only a Labour government will ‘take’ your assets, that’s errant nonsense.

Taxes are far more likely to rise under a Labour government. In some cases it will amount to taking your assets, such as increases in IHT.

It is this kind of thing which make my blood boil.

www.telegraph.co.uk/money/tax/labour-tax-plans-cost-pensioners-100-year-2029/

You may need to use www.removepaywall.com/ to read it.

It was Sunak who froze the tax personal allowances, stopping the long-standing Labour Rooker-Wise amendment which had been in force since 1977.

Rooker-Wise increased the tax personal allowance every year by the rate of inflation and as the state pension rose by the rate of inflation it kept those who only had that out of the text net.

Ed Davey had lobbied for Rooker-Wise to be extended to be linked to earning too - a kind of triple lock for the personal allowance - but he was defeated. Nevertheless, we still had the Rooker-Wise increase for 44 years … until Sunak stopped it.

It was Sunak who created this fiscal drag. The increased tax yield as a result factors into the numbers behind the current fiscal rules - which the new government are keeping in place for now because they are being cautious about giving away unfunded tax cuts - you know, the kind of thing that Tory Liz Truss did nearly crashing the economy and pension funds with it.

Sunak dangled an election carrot in front of the pensioners he saw as his core voters by promising to give them an age allowance to effectively cancel out the effect of fiscal drag. Why was he not thinking so kindly in 2021? Because that wasn’t an election year.

We used to have age-related tax allowances but George Osborne abolished them.

Now we have The Telegraph writing headlines like this:

Pensioners could face three-figure yearly bill under Labour

This is a tax rise created by the Tories.

Those with only a state pension aren’t going to be caught by fiscal drag for at least three years unless inflation or earnings rise again by the same kinds of percentages we saw in 2022 and 2023.

The administrative tax burden of taxing people whose only income is state pension would be considerable. It would have to be done via self-assessment - which isn’t easy for everyone and would be impossible for some. It would mean pensioners putting aside money from their state pensiion to pay the tax in arrears which could create hardship. Eat, heat or pay tax.

My gut feeling is that Reeves will do something in the future to take those with only the state pension out of the tax net before fiscal drag kicks in but she has time to do so.

Germanshepherdsmum

Taxes are far more likely to rise under a Labour government. In some cases it will amount to taking your assets, such as increases in IHT.

Tax rises under the Tory Government were the highest level ever. They froze the personal allowance. Pensioners with savings were not worse off, but millions of working people were. Labour may well tax people with assets more, but that does not mean that the average working person will be worse off under a Labour government. It’s all about perspective, not all about how it affects us personally.

Witzend

I sincerely hope that 40 billion revenue gap will be tackled, and if that means employing more HMRC staff, so be it.

I wouldn’t mind betting that a good many landlords fail to declare their rental income, or under-declare it. If there is no mortgage on the property - and a good many LLs are mortgage free - then unless your local council requires you to register (many don’t) there is literally nobody you legally need to tell that you are letting a property. The SA form asks only how many properties - it doesn’t ask for addresses.

I have heard anecdotally of people who have never declared their rental income, including via a dd, a married couple - both doctors - who told DD’s friend that she was mad to be declaring hers - ‘We never have!’

Rubbish!

You admit you “wouldn’t mind betting” but landlords like myself who do things by the book would never risk not declaring their rental income.

HMRC have access to Stamp Duty Land tax records, HM Land Registry, The Security Deposit Scheme where you MUST put tenants deposit, Estate Agents, the Electoral Register and of course informants like neighbours, tenants, ex spouses and people like yourself who don’t like people having more than one property so they try and dob them in!

Talking of which, someone with a grudge once reported us to the VAT people. A charming woman came out and we had everything ready for her. Within 10 minutes she said she had seen enough and everything was in order. She said we had been reported but she obviously couldn’t say by whom.

We then had coffee and she told us she knew every excuse going and could tell within minutes if there was something dodgy going on. She stayed for an hour and we learned a lot about people from her.

Sorry to disappoint you Witzend 😝 but all above board here.

Primrose53

Anybody else making plans to protect their finances now Labour is in charge?

They will be after any penny they can get, make no mistake about that! Nothing will be safe from them. I even heard they will be after you if you have a very large garden.

Labour hates anybody to have more than one property (except of course Angela Rayner) so we are ending our holiday let property and making alternative arrangements.

There’s a ring of steel going round our savings and investments. We might give some to the kids and we might treat ourselves to new cars or extra special holidays in the near future. 😉

I have been giving the Annual Gift Allowance (£3000 per year) to each of our two sons.

I would rather them have it now than when I am dead.

Good idea BigMamma. I did say in my original post that I am planning to do that too. Thanks.👍

🤣🤣🤣🤣 what an absolute sweetheart

petra

kircubbin2000

There was talk of taxing your pension. I would not like that.

My pension and many thousands of others already have their pensions taxed. Nothing new there.

I have a private pension from my late husband and a full state pension in my own right and pay tax. I have enough to live on, have a comfortable life and gift both our sons £3000 per year each as is legal.

I am making no changes at all and will continue as I always have. The pension will rise each year and cover any rise in bills so as long as I can pay my way, have enough food in the house, heat my home in winter and buy whatever item (in moderation) I need, and still gift money to our sons I am happy.

I cannot take it with me.

I'm sure you'll all survive. No wonder the word boomer is used with such disdain amongst the younger generation.

Unfortunately, Merion, we now know that you are not unbiased.

Primrose53

Good idea BigMamma. I did say in my original post that I am planning to do that too. Thanks.👍

I pay £3000 each per year it into both their premium bonds account by standing order for which they are very grateful, and in return, they help me in my garden and take me on the odd holiday for few days and days out. Also they also have a chance of winning on the premium bonds.

It works perfectly.

The annual gift allowance is a total of £3k BigMamma, not £3k per recipient.

GrannyGravy13

I have posted before that there are a lot of accountant and solicitors rubbing their hands in glee at the extra business coming in by frightened folks trying to protect their assets.

And scaremongering so called "facts" on here too.

Germanshepherdsmum

The annual gift allowance is a total of £3k BigMamma, not £3k per recipient.

Sorry I apologise, yes I do gift £1500 to each of our sons which is a total of £3000 per year.

I think the £3000 allowance is the total you can give not to each person.

kircubbin2000

I think the £3000 allowance is the total you can give not to each person.

Correct. Ridiculously low!

Maybe the "frightened folks trying to protect their assets" should try for the chairman of Tesco's job - 10 million per annum basic, plus share options, plus a generous bonus.

This sort of thing became normalised during the Tory years. But everyday production line workers, care workers, nurses, doctors and the public services are castigated for being greedy should they dare to ask for a weekly wage that's NOT keeping them under the breadline and driving them to foodbanks.