Overview
- Media reports say the Chancellor is considering an annual council tax surcharge on very high-value properties, with options including revaluing bands F–H or applying a levy to homes already in those bands.
- Coverage indicates ministers have shifted toward a £2 million floor and are exploring deferral options that would allow payment on sale or death.
- The Evening Standard reports a targeted revenue of roughly £400 million to £500 million and highlights London’s exposure, noting almost 600,000 homes already sit in the top three bands.
- Tax expert Dan Neidle warns a partial revaluation based on 1991 banding would be unfair and unworkable, suggesting a broader rethink or a separate levy on properties genuinely worth £2 million or more.
- Rightmove says agreed sales on £2 million-plus homes are down 13% year-on-year, and the debate has widened to alternatives such as IPPR’s proposal to raise top-band rates and Aldermore’s call for a time-limited stamp duty holiday on new builds under £500,000.