Property News · March 12, 2016

Stop whacking pensions and benefits – hit property instead


In America it’s a super-generous tax break … no capital gains tax when you sell your main home but only if it has not gone up by more than £175,000There is a tax break that Americans cherish, but were the same thing introduced in Britain it would spark a revolt akin to the Boston Tea Party. One major US financial website calls it “the best tax break available to Jane and John Public.” So what is this lavish giveaway by the Internal Revenue Service? It’s the fact that, in the US, homeowners do not have to pay capital gains tax when they sell their main home, so long as it has not gone up in price more than $250,000 (£175,000) for a single person or $500,000 (£350,000) for a couple.Americans think this is super generous. Most homeowners in the US, a country less blighted by property price inflation than Britain, have not seen their homes rise in value by more than $500,000, so do not pay a dime in CGT. If their home has massively inflated in value (we’re talking San Francisco or New York) the gains above $250,000/$500,000 are taxed at 15% or 20%. Continue reading…

Source : theguardian.com
Read more…Stop whacking pensions and benefits – hit property instead

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