CGT exemption on homes – the government takes action

No. Only kidding.

With the recent hoo-haa over MPs “avoiding” capital gains tax on the sale of their second homes, and with Alistair Darling stating on 24 May 209 that the law would be amended, what changes will be included in this year’s Finance Act ?  None.

The closest we came was the tabling of an amendment by the Lib Dems, seeking a revision of the nomination rules at TCGA 1992, s.225(5). Their proposed clause was pretty lame and was dropped. The debate of the same is noteworthy for showing that, no matter how sincere they may be, our parliamentarians have  barely the feintest grasp of the laws they make and which the rest of us are then stuck with.

With the rules for the exemption of profits enjoyed on the sale of homes, and second homes, representing an increasingly anamolous tax break, and one which can be argued to have contributed significantly to the housing bubble, the banking crisis and the pensions crisis, it remains curious that the subject does not receive far more attention.

The National Housing & Policy Advice Unit, launched in 2007, has yet to consider the issue worthy of its attention.