Green said: "Now MPs have had the debate on the issue, it really is time that politicians of all persuasions stopped political point-scoring and abandoned the idea of a mansion tax because, as the Laffer Curve demonstrates, there comes a point when taxing the wealthy becomes counterproductive for raising revenue.

"Should a mansion tax come into effect it would, inevitably, result in capital flight – right at a time when the UK needs all the revenue it can get – because the wealthiest in society are the ones who have the resources simply to move to a lower tax jurisdiction to protect Continue reading →

Over the next ten years another 95,000 individuals are set to break the $30million barrier in terms of personal wealth, and while Asia and Latin America will see the largest growth in the number of ultra-wealthy individuals, North America will still have the highest total number of HNWIs in 2022.
 
Liam Bailey, Global Head of Residential Research at Knight Frank, said: "The largest concentration of wealth is currently based in the established centres of North America and Europe, but there is set to be rapid growth in Asia, Latin America and the Middle East. In the next decade we will Continue reading →

The Mayor’s proposal would give the capital a stable income stream to create a 25-year plan that will not just solve its housing needs but would create hundreds of thousands of long-term jobs and give a massive boost to its economy benefiting the whole of the UK .

In a keynote speech to the Chartered Institute of Housing the Mayor told members that London could not rely solely on a "planning-led" system which has delivered only half the number of homes needed for 20 years.

He believes that London, not Whitehall , is best placed to address the problem having already proved itself Continue reading →

"This will certainly have an impact on the capital’s housing market as the key financial services sector enters a period of cooling and bonuses are scarcer. However, the underlying buyer demand in London remains robust, with the number of registered buyers during the first 15 days of 2013 equaling the 2012 total over the whole of January and expected to continue on an upwards path.

"Our data shows the proportion of mortgaged buyers doubled in the last year across prime Central London, while the number of cash buyers dropped by over a fifth, in part due to the cautious bonus environment and Continue reading →

Over the last two years the Government has provided grants of around £2billion to help freeze council tax. A freeze in council tax in 2013-14 would represent a real terms cut of around two per cent and a fall of nine per cent in real terms over the past three years.

Local Government Secretary Eric Pickles said:

"The Coalition Government’s council tax freeze has cut council tax in real terms over the last two years. A third-year’s freeze will mean the combined effect is potentially worth over £200 to Band D residents. Freezing bills again will really help hard working families and those Continue reading →

Quantitative Easing has not resulted in banks passing money on to businesses, with the Basel III requirement for banks to increase their buffers encouraging them to limit lending and raise rates. The Government has already recognised the potential of peer to peer lending to fill this gap, with bidding beginning tomorrow for the £100 million earmarked for non-traditional lending through so called ‘private banks’ in the last Budget, but this figure needs to be drastically increased to have a real impact on SMEs.
 
Stuart Law, Chief Executive of Assetz Capital, said:
 
"Many traditional banks are now a Continue reading →

The local growth reforms are part of the Local Government Finance Bill that will have its third reading in the House of Commons next week. The Bill was not directly mentioned in the Queen’s Speech because it was ‘carried over’ from the previous legislative session.

The Bill seeks to create a new incentive for local government across England to support growth by directly linking a council’s financial revenue to the decisions they take to back local firms and local jobs. Councils will be able to keep 50 per cent of their business rates, providing a strong incentive to go for growth.

A set Continue reading →

A recent survey from Findaproperty.com found that almost a third of parents find their current home is too small to accommodate their family – rising to 40 per cent for younger families where the parents are aged between 18 and 34.

Mr Shapps said that for the first time, these overlooked owners will now get the help they need to move from their current abode to a new address – through the NewBuy Guarantee – while also freeing up properties suitable for aspiring first time buyers.
 
The NewBuy Guarantee is not confined to first-time buyers but is designed to help anyone Continue reading →

“The Government will find it very difficult to get sustained growth in the economy while the construction industry remains depressed. Construction is essential to the wellbeing of the wider economy because of the variety and quantity of job its creates from apprentice bricklayers to world leading architects. Every £1.00 spent on construction generates £2.84 in the wider economy which makes it the best investment the Government can make to get Britain back on its feet.”
 
Berry continued:

“Steps the Government could take now to stimulate construction to help create jobs in the economy should include abandoning its plans to introduce VAT Continue reading →

This includes 35% admitting to having taken significant pay cuts in the last five years to avoid laying off workers.

Far from just a short-term measure, of those who have reduced their earnings to avoid making redundancies, 60% say it’s something that’s lasted for more than a year and nearly one in five (17%) say it could go on indefinitely.

What’s more, when it comes to the actual amounts bosses are foregoing, they’re far from token gestures.

Of those that have reduced their own wages, 70% have cut them by as much as a half, while one in 20 admit to scrapping their salaries Continue reading →