Sunak Announces Landlord Tax Bung Ahead of Manifesto Launch

Sunak,
who
acknowledged
during
a
BBC
interview
that
it
has
become
harder
for
people
to
own
their
first
home
under
the
Conservatives,
will
also
pledge
to
abolish
stamp
duty
up
to
the
value
of
£425,000
for
first-time
buyers
and
launch
a
“new
and
improved”
Help
to
Buy
scheme.

The
Conservative
leader
has
also
said
tax
cuts
will
be
included
in
the
manifesto,
with
reports
suggesting
another
2p
cut
to
national
insurance.

Labour
predicted
the
Tory
manifesto
will
be
the
“most
expensive
panic
attack
in
history”.

Sunak’s
speech
is
expected
to
see
him
draw
upon
the
spirit
of
Margaret
Thatcher,
who
introduced
the
right-to-buy
scheme
which
led
to
a
sell-off
of
council
homes,
and
her
tax-cutting
chancellor
Nigel
Lawson.

The
manifesto
launch
on
Tuesday
comes
after
a
bruising
few
days
in
the
campaign
in
which
Sunak
dismissed
resignation
rumours
amid
the
ongoing
fallout
over
his
early
departure
from
D-Day
commemorations.

With
Labour
enjoying
a
strong
lead
over
the
Tories
in
the
opinion
polls,
and
with
Nigel
Farage’s
Reform
UK
hoping
to
appeal
to
Tory
voters,
Sunak
will
aim
to
improve
his
party’s
outlook
with
the
release
of
his
pledges.

Writing
for

The
Daily
Telegraph,
Sunak
said:
“owning
a
home
makes
people
more
financially
secure,
gives
them
a
stake
in
society
and,
as
Thatcher
said,
is
one
of
the
main
bulwarks
of
individual
freedom.

“People
should
have
the
chance
to
buy
their
own
home
–
it
goes
to
the
foundations
of
what
we
believe
as
Conservatives:
we
are
the
party
of
the
property-owning
democracy.”

Sunak
said
a
temporary
increase
of
the
stamp
duty
threshold
to
£425,000
had
helped
more
than
200,000
first-time
buyers
in
a
12-month
period,
adding:
“we
Conservatives
believe
in
tax
cuts,
so
we
will
abolish
stamp
duty
up
to
the
value
of
£425,000
for
first-time
buyers,
making
the
temporary
rise
in
the
threshold
permanent
and
giving
thousands
more
home-buyers
tax
relief.

“Secondly,
we
will
launch
a
brand
new
and
improved
Help
to
Buy
scheme
to
help
a
new
generation
on
to
the
property
ladder.
With
our
new
scheme,
we
will
provide
an
equity
loan
of
up
to
20%
towards
the
cost
of
a
new-build
home.
We
will
also
give
first-time
buyers
a
5%
deposit
on
terms
they
can
afford.

“This
will
be
transformational
for
those
on
the
brink
of
home
ownership
but
who
need
a
helping
hand
to
get
there.
We
will
help
these
people
to
become
owners.”

Sunak
added:
“thirdly,
we
will
introduce
a
tax
relief
for
landlords
who
sell
to
their
existing
tenants.
This
will
incentivise
landlords
to
give
tenants
a
chance
to
own
the
home
they
live
in
with
a
100%
relief
on
their
capital
gains
tax
liability.
It
is
good
for
landlords
and
transformational
for
tenants.”

Sunak
is
expected
to
use
his
speech
on
Tuesday
to
say
the
Conservatives
had
to
take
“difficult
decisions
because
of
Covid”
before
adding:
“but
we
are
now
cutting
taxes
for
earners,
parents
and
pensioners.

“We
are
the
party
of
Margaret
Thatcher
and
Nigel
Lawson,
a
party,
unlike
Labour,
that
believes
in
sound
money.”

Figures
provided
by
the
Organisation
for
Economic
Co-operation
&
Development
have
previously
showed
the
UK’s
current
level
of
tax
burden
is
the
highest
on
record.

Statistics
published
late
last
year
showed
tax
hit
35.3%
of
gross
domestic
product
in
2022/23,
a
0.9%
increase
on
the
previous
year.
This
ratio
is
forecast
to
grow
to
37.7%
by
2029,
with
the
government’s
freeze
on
tax
ratios
the
dominant
driver.

The
Tories
have
previously
pledged
no
increases
to
income
tax,
national
insurance
or
VAT.
They
have
also
promised
to
increase
the
income
tax
personal
allowance
for
pensioners
–
giving
them
a
tax
cut
worth
around
£95
in
2025/26,
rising
to
£275
in
2029/30.

Mandatory
national
service
for
18-year-olds
was
among
the
first
pledges
by
Sunak
and
would
require
teenagers
to
choose
between
taking
a
12-month
placement
in
the
armed
forces
or
“volunteer”
work
in
their
community
one
weekend
a
month
for
a
year.

Pat
McFadden,
Labour’s
national
campaign
co-ordinator,
said:
“the
one
thing
to
know
about
the
desperate
series
of
unfunded
commitments
in
the
Tory
manifesto
is
that
the
money’s
not
there.
Their
manifesto
will
be
the
most
expensive
panic
attack
in
history.
The
Tories’
scattergun
and
unfunded
commitments
have
racked
up
billions
with
no
idea
from
them
of
how
to
pay
for
it.

“They
used
to
care
about
economic
credibility.
Now,
in
their
desperation,
they
spend
every
day
torching
whatever
remnants
of
it
they
had
left.”

Earlier
on
Monday,
Sunak
responded
to
criticism
of
his
early
exit
from
the
80th
anniversary
of
the
Normandy
landings.

Asked
whether
resigning
had
crossed
his
mind,
Sunak
told
broadcasters
during
a
visit
to
the
Dog
&
Bacon
pub
in
Horsham:
“no,
of
course
not.
I’m
energised
about
the
vision
that
we’re
putting
forward
for
the
country.”

Elsewhere,
children
under
the
age
of
16
would
be
banned
from
buying
highly-caffeinated
energy
drinks
under
a
Labour
government.

Labour
leader
Keir
Starmer
said
the
sale
of
drinks
containing
more
than
150mg
of
caffeine
per
litre
to
under
16s
is
“not
justifiable
or
acceptable”,
adding:
“we’ll
stop
it.
I
will
always
take
the
tough
decisions
necessary
to
keep
our
children
healthy.”

It
comes
as
Labour
pushes
its
“child
health
action
plan”,
which
includes
creating
an
extra
100,000
urgent
dental
appointments
for
children
in
a
bid
to
clear
backlogs
in
England.

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