8th
Nov 2022
A website that sees itself at the forefront of promoting “popular capitalism” is pressing the government to not consider raising Capital Gains Tax in November’s Autumn Statement.
One of Cap X’s blogs says whenever politicians are busy scrummaging around which taxes to raise they always seriously consider matching CGT to the income tax rate.
The blog says: “Sure as night follows day this misconceived and ill-informed idea has been floated as a potential component of the upcoming budget [on November 17].”
The site explains how politicians often paint the picture that the majority of CGT received is paid by the rich however in the real world many classed as ordinary people are saddled with the tax, and refers to one example as being “someone selling their buy-to-let because they need the cash.”
The site also says by increasing CGT it causes the so-called ‘lock in effect’ as people wishing to sell their assets such as BTL landlords wishing to put their properties on the market, hold back from doing so hoping that one day the tax will be reduced.
“International evidence shows that when CGT rates are cut revenue raised from the tax goes up, sometimes dramatically. For example, when the CGT rate in Ireland was halved the amount raised nearly doubled” explains Cap X.
The blog says that many apparent gains subject to CGT irrespective of the current rate or higher in real terms are seriously affected by the high level of inflation and in many cases are not real profits.
“Given our current inflation rate of 10 per cent, if an asset was bought for £100,000 and sold two years later the sale price would have to be at least £121,000 to avoid a loss being made. So the state would tax this entirely illusory ‘gain’, which only occurred because it failed to keep inflation under control. That’s just confiscation.”
In his previous post as Chancellor in 2020 Sunak was responsible for commissioning an Office for Tax Simplification report which supported the view that CGT’s rate of 28 per cent should be increased to match the top rates of income tax, 40 and 45 per cent in England and Wales, which would have a huge impact on BTL landlords selling up.
The OTS said if CGT is matched with income tax it could be doubled and its structure made simpler as its report claimed: "The disparity in rates between Capital Gains Tax and income tax can distort business and family decision-making and creates an incentive for taxpayers to arrange their affairs in ways that effectively re-characterise income as capital gains."
News Archive »