I meant in the general sense that living in a low Tax economy boosts investment and growth. There is nothing wrong in being allowed to keep more of your own money as possible to spend it on what you see fit.
There is an argument for that (although in fact there is a point where the tax is too low and actually simply increases inequality and has a negative effect). I accept that the right amount of tax to charge is very much open to argument and while I might believe in taxes at a higher level than others I'm not qualified to argue specifics on that and I can understand people would want lower taxes. But this is a separate point to the tax on property value. As I said, your stepfather's house value has no impact on investment or growth and taxing it (particularly so that the tax payable is deferred to inheritance) has no impact on investment or growth. So while your argument is not invalid, it's irrelevant to the so-called "mansion tax".
OK JWM,Which is the fairer. Your stepdad who allegedly owns a £2million property being asked for three grand or someone on the £6.50 an hour minimum wage working a 50 hour week being deducted £1380 income tax? Incidentally JWM all this whining about not having a dad and you had a multi-millionaire stepdad. Ever give you a helping hand did he? Well at least we know why you are a Tory,self interest. Just out of interest I put Cambridge into Rightmove and guess how many properties came up over £2million. One. It seems your stepdad owns another.Fantasist.
To be fair CT, there are around 100 houses in Cambridge worth over £2m: "To put this into perspective, in the relatively affluent seat of Cambridge there are around 100 properties worth over £2m. With a further dose of inflation, perhaps 250 more could join them in the course of the next parliament. " http://leftfootforward.org/2014/11/can-labour-win-over-cambridge/ It doesn't alter the fact that JWM's stepfather is clearly very wealthy. And if there's one thing the wealthy can afford but rarely want, it's higher taxes...
I know a bit about property and historical values.I very much doubt that firstly a house valued at £7k in 1966 would now be in excess of £2million. My brother bought a new build bungalow in March 1965 for £2450.It is currently worth about £140k. Nice houses in Cambridge have always been reasonably sought after due to the demand from academics,it would certainly have been in the £15k range. I also think that JWM's stepfather is a figment of his over active Tory imagination.There was a Norfolk jostler on the wireless a few weeks back claiming that his shack was two million quids worth. ED I found an article that listed Chelsea as having had the highest price growth in 50 years. A £17k house increased to £3million a growth of 18000%.JWM's stepdad achieved 28000% with two years to spare. He thinks we fell off Christmas trees. Don't mess with a statman JWM.
The piece you highlight is essentially about politics and not property values.If there are indeed that many properties at two million plus it would seem very strange that there is only one on the market.
Not really. The Turnover of properties in the UK is around 5% per annum (25 million homes, 1.2m sold every year). So if we were to estimate an average of 6 months that a property would be on the market (which would be very long, usually it's less, but we should play it safe) you would expect 2.5% of homes to be evidenced online at any given opportunity. Now, of course, the higher the value of the property the less frequently it gets bought and sold - houses of £2m plus actually come on the market relatively infrequently. But, based on one property in Cambridge on the market (that you have found) in the £2m+ bracket, that would still mean a bare minimum of c. 50 Cambridge houses worth that. Bear in mind also, that the higher the value the less likely they are to be listed on Rightmove/Zoopla etc (as you get specialist estate agents and there is a fear that people just nosey). And of course Rightmove doesn't list all other properties anyway. So all in all, you are lucky to have even found one house in that bracket on Rightmove given the % likeliness. In any event, this article, given the source, is likely to understate the number or properties in that bracket if anything. I think you'll find it's pretty reliable. Without a doubt there are many more than just one property in Cambridge worth £2m plus (I know Cambridge well enough to be sure of that). Whether one owner is JWM's stepfather is an entirely difference question. http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/Cam...-East-Anglia/story-22749157-detail/story.html "Stewart Chipchase, associate director at Savills, which sold the most expensive house in the city for £3.4 million in Luard Road in 2007, said there are plenty of houses that have not been on the market over the last few years that will now be pushing the £4 million mark." And that was in 2012. The thing is they just don't often come on the market
So that makes at least two then CT! I'm sorry mate, I'm with you on this thread on pretty much every point, but it's pretty clear that while we won't be able to know sure how many properties there are in Cambridge worth over £2m, there is at least more than one and quite possibly as many as 100. After all, property valuation is an art not a science... as any estate agent will make clear!
Zoopla shows at least 12 houses sold in Cambridge for more than £2m in the last 3 years. Based on national turnover of 5% per annum, that suggests there are approximately 80 houses in that bracket. Given turnover drops as values go higher, that would imply that 80 houses is the lowest estimate http://www.zoopla.co.uk/house-price...arch_source=house-prices&so=mean_3_yr&sd=desc
So explain the average of £977k when every one is 1.5 - 2million. I am prepared to wager a hundred quid with you JWM if you can prove your purchase and valuation figures.I made my living for 40 years by smelling out stories.This one is just that.
My Zoopla chart I sent you showed an average of £1,239,883 for Newton Road. Bit weird? But then Newton Road doesn't seem to be in the top 30 most expensive roads in Cambridge. There is one house that's been sold for over £2m on that road yes, but then there are a couple of others which have been sold for £1.6m-£1.75m more than 2 years ago. Cambridge house prices increased more than anywhere else in the country other than London in the last year, so there is little doubt in my mind that there are at least three properties on Newton Road worth at least £2m. My suspicion is there are several more because not all will have been on the market in the last 10 years or so. I have lost track of the point of this, so I'm afraid I am going to have to resign.
The point is that JWM like most Tories makes the stories up. £7200 wasn't an unusual house price in 1966. Most bought for that sum are now half a million quid.JWM just wants this fictional stepdad to make a political point for him.I doubt that he even exists.
