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TODAY'S OTHER NEWS

The growing popularity of buy-to-let

With savers receiving dismal returns from banks and building societies, thousands more people are turning to buy-to-let as a means of supplementing their income, fresh income data from HMRC shows.

The figures reveal that the number of private landlords in this country has increased by more than 100,000 a year since 2011-12, with 1.9 million people having earned money from property in 2015-16 as income from property hit £16.2bn, up £4.1bn over four years.

The annual personal incomes statistics, published by HMRC, also reveals that total income from dividends almost doubled over the same period from £42.5bn to £83.8bn as average incomes soared to £17,000 per investor.

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Reflecting on the data, Sean McCann, chartered financial planner at NFU Mutual, commented: “The chancellor will be rubbing his hands in anticipation as these huge incomes from dividends and properties give the taxman two bites at the cherry.

“It’s not just the income that will be taxed. The latest predictions from the Office for Budget Responsibility show capital gains tax receipts will rocket from £8.8bn this tax year to £9.9bn in 2018-19 and £13.3bn in five years’ time. So they clearly expect many investors to sell up and realise their gains between now and 2022-23.”

But McCann added that he believes that the number of landlords is likely to “plateau or even fall” over the next few years, as property investors “start to feel the pinch from a series of tax measures that have already come into force”.

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  • G romit

    This out of date information from HMRC to try and make us believe the PRS is growing. This data is, in fact, pre Sec.24 announcement , since then the PRS has been in decline; slowly initially but it is now gathering momentum as the first round of Sec.24 tax have been paid and some Landlords realising why their tax bill has shot up.
    The consequences are starting to show, as well, homelessness is growing, higher evictions as people on low incomes/benefits are evicted for renters who can afford the higher rents required to pay the extra tax, or the Landlords is selling up.

    Ther predicted train crash is happening!!

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    i hope so--perhaps the faux-tories will wake up

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    The problem is much wider than any government.

     
  • phil dillon

    Difficult to change the rules now without losing face , and Politicians are very focussed on their own faces. A child could have forecast the fall out from Sec 24, but the Politicians decided to bend over to the Popular Labour Press. Now watch it all fall apart

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    I very much doubt the Conservatives will reverse themselves on S.24 as it'll only be seen as giving a tax break to the well-off (whether that's the case or not). Doing so would play straight into Labor's hands who've probably got an even more aggressive stance toward landlords, rent control etc. My guess would be that the tax and regulatory regime toward landlords will become even more unforgiving in time to come.

  • James B

    Agreed. It should change but won’t
    With labour promising even more severe landlord bashing to win over the tenant vote, the conservatives could not risk giving labour that advantage by doing anything at all to help landlords, even if these measures are crushing the very people the propaganda is boasting it’s to help .. hard to see an end to it seems landlords and tenants are going to suffer together for a while yet, at least the PRS ones

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    conservatives will not back down because that are not Conservatives

    i make more money now as i paid off all loans and increased rents a little

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