Here is a roundup of views from wealth managers and advisors about controversial changes to tax on high-value properties by the UK government - a move sure to be noted by investors overseas.

A week ago, UK finance minister (aka Chancellor of the Exchequer) George Osborne set out his annual autumn statement package of fiscal measures to lawmakers, and among the most headline-grabbing items interesting to wealth managers were moves over stamp duty tax on high-value property deals. Some commentators have seen that move as a way to wrongfoot the Labour Party opposition and other parties such as the Liberal Democrats, who have argued for a so-called “Mansion Tax” on luxury properties. There have been fears that such a tax could morph into a more general wealth tax as exists in countries such as France, with disastrous economic consequences (not to mention, as far as some are concerned, being a gross violation of property rights more generally).

This publication reported on the events on the day (see here), with industry reaction. However, here are more thoughts from the wealth management and associated sectors about the statement. It is being published, among other reasons, for the benefit of readers in places such as Asia and other countries where HNW individuals have been buyers of UK properties.

Alex Newall, Managing director at Hanover Private Office.
“The announcement to reform stamp duty has been made, and hopefully this will replace any need for a Mansion Tax, which has been widely criticised as grossly unfair. The total Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) yield from sales of residential properties in 2013/14 was £6.45 billion ($10.12 billion), marking a 31 per cent increase on a total of £4.9 billion in 2012/13, recent HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) data has shown.

“Negating the need for a possible Mansion Tax for owning rather than buying is welcome news and will help all those families who have, by no fault of their own, ended up owning houses which have risen in value and gone above £2 million. In London, this may only be a two-bedroom flat, where house prices have risen over 20 per cent in the last year.”

“This is fantastic news for first time buyers who will pay no stamp duty up to £125,000. The slab system has been abolished, and like income tax, the new system will tax on the part of the price within the new bands. This will help fuel the lower end of the market and we expect the volume of transactions to grow.”

However the new banding will have a significant impact on the prime market (those properties priced over £1.5 million where stamp duty will be a whopping 12 per cent, and will make buyers think twice before writing HMRC a very large cheque. On a £5 million residential property, the buyer will have to write a cheque for £514,000 to HMRC, rather than £350,000. Nowhere will this hit harder than in Prime Central London and the South East, where the majority of super prime transactions occur.”

“The volume of sales are already down and Notting Hill has seen a decline of 48 per cent in transaction volumes over the last 12 months following the fears of Mansion Tax as people worry about the annual costs. Increasing stamp duty will make it more expensive to buy a house at the top of the market, but the wide majority of existing owners will favour this approach. Compare taxes in London to those in New York City, and London will still remain a global draw. Security, education, business, a completely multi cultural society, and despite operating a tighter tax system, it is in fact one which is now more in line with other global cities, such as Hong Kong where stamp duty is as high as 8.5 per cent and in Singapore where it reaches 15 per cent for foreign buyers or 10 per cent for Singapore buyers acquiring a second home.”

“12 per cent Stamp duty on residential properties priced over £1.5 million is a disaster for prime properties sales, but a great help to the mass market. The new stamp duty helps 98 per cent of the market and threatens high end sales volumes.  So there is no Mansion Tax, but this new stamp duty could harm prime market.”

Martin Bikhit, managing director at Kay & Co.
“Today’s announcement essentially introduces the “Conservative Mansion Tax” – a tax on purchasers of homes at £1.5 million rather than £2 million.  This will not be welcomed by the upper end of the market where the increase in tax means the taxation burden is potentially enormous, for example we have one transaction where the stamp duty payable will increase from £581,000 to just under £910,000.  However, if ever there was a time to introduce such a tax change, it could be now, as the current market is in a natural lull, therefore potentially giving buyers time to adjust, and impacting less than it might have done if we were in a very buoyant market.

“That said, the constant frustration that remains is the spur-of-the-moment manner in which these taxation changes are introduced by successive governments. The “midnight deadline” of today [3 December] by which to exchange contracts on a property, or potentially face substantially higher stamp duty levies, causes enormous issues to so many innocent people engaged in the process of buying a property.  It is not just the rich that will be affected by today’s announcement, it is the less well-off much further down the property chain, including first time buyers, who will find their attempt to purchase a home unravel before their eyes.”

Mark Pollack, director at Aston Chase.
“This announcement has taken the London property fraternity by complete surprise, particularly given timescale of midnight when the higher levels of stamp duty will take effect and the distinctly unseasonal gesture by the Chancellor. It’s inevitable that this will cause many deals to fall through and for aggressive and desperate re-negotiations to be happening from this moment on. The reality is that while talk of a Mansion Tax was fraught with implications for the government, this unexpected turn can only be viewed with grave concern by those who understand that the existing prime residential market in London is already under pressure and far from buoyant.”  

“A five per cent hike in reality is certain to force a total reappraisal in the value of stock.  Previously a 1-2 per cent increase might cause a knee-jerk reaction, that would be swallowed in the ensuing months, but this 5 per cent extreme increase will expose the reality that there is not the excess of money sloshing around among domestic buyers, in reality it is the wealthy international investors who are in a position to absorb such extreme increases.  London’s own residents and domestic buyers often have no choice but to remain in the capital and their lifestyle and work commitments tend to demand that their properties are geared to support and enable this. This punitive measure will directly affect capital value and cannot be absorbed by the market.  The only winners in this scenario will be the basement specialists and loft conversion companies, who will be inundated with enquiries from homeowners forced to stay put and improve rather than move.”

Ed Corry Reid, associate director, Aylesford International.
“To say we’re all surprised is an understatement.  I’m questioning how much of this is political insofar as are the Conservatives trying to shoot Labour and the Lib Dem’s Mansion Tax fox? Regardless of why, the fact is that the new 10 per cent and 12 per cent levels represent an extraordinary hike in tax that will impact immediately on levels of activity in London and the South East.  With the new rates coming into effect from midnight, we have already seen serious jitters on ongoing transactions over £1 million.  This coupled with the election next year could easily see the London market stagnate until next autumn at least.  It seems incredibly short-sighted to place such a large burden on a market in central London, which is already under a huge amount of pressure, and which already contributes a significant amount to the treasury in SDLT.”

Peter Allen, sales and marketing director at Londonewcastle.
"Although this won't be music to the ears of prime resi: it hurts you above £1.125 million and is 18,000 more stamp on a £1.5 million home!  The Chancellor's announcement on SDLT is fantastic news for the majority of buyers in the UK, and a lot in London too, with a £3,000 saving on a nice two-bed new build in Zone 2 priced at £700,000. This, with the news of the UK economy's strong growth figures, low inflation and low interest rates, underlines the continued attractiveness of investing in property in the capital. I'm looking forward now to the market waking up to these basic underlying facts in the New Year."

Matt Cobb, director at Hatton Real Estate.
“In my view, the concept of a progressive structure is a fairer way of calculating stamp duty. Values were sometimes limited by the previous stamp duty thresholds and we may now see a broader range of price points in the market, previously you wouldn’t ever really market a property for say £505,000 or £510,000 as stamp duty would increase from 3 per cent to 4 per cent north of £500,000. Overall the new structure is good news for property worth under £937,500 where there will be some savings, although I suspect transaction volumes for property priced at £1.5 million-plus will reduce slightly.  For first time buyers the new changes will be welcome news.”