HMRC
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Latest property news
Unfair imbalance? Agents earn £3.9bn from fees but HMRC takes £9.4bn in Stamp Duty
Research by Zoopla has revealed the total earned by agents every year in fees from sales and lettings, highlighting how it pales into insignificance compared to the Stamp Duty paid by home movers to HMRC. The company’s Research and Insights Director Richard Donnell (left) told delegates at Friday’s Negotiator Conference that while buyers, renters, landlords and vendors combined spend £3.9 billion on agency fees every year, the government collects £9.27 billion in residential Stamp Duty, or nearly two-and-a-half times as much. The duty is also increasing; HMRC’s latest figures show that last year the amount of duty paid on average by purchasers increased by 7%, largely due to the increases duty for properties in the higher price brackets. Stamp Duty problems Agents have become increasingly vocal about the problems that Stamp Duty is creating, particularly in the £500,000-plus sales market, including lower sales and greater difficulties getting buyers to make an offer as they baulk at the huge Stamp Duty bill. This, economists agents and politicians have been pointing out, is an example of the famous Laffer Curve. It is a theory made popular during the 1980s in the US and it argues that there is a point at which…
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Features
The LonRes response to HMRC and AML branch checks
The Negotiator’s exclusive interview with LonRes discussed the challenges faced by sales agents in London and why it has bought FCS, the Anti Money Laundering services provider.
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Latest property news
Court freezes assets of family behind collapsed holiday home firm
High Court of Justice says assets including a Range Rover, Porsche and two family homes cannot be moved or sold until the end of October.
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Latest property news
Property transactions down by 12.4% year on year, claims HMRC
The drop has been blamed on flip-flopping by both the Prime Minister and his ministers over mooted plans to reform stamp duty.
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Latest property news
NAEA ‘surprise’ at 250% money laundering supervision fee rise
Estate agent are to face a significant rise in the supervision fees they pay HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC). From May 1 this year all estate agencies with a turnover of more than £5,000 must pay £300 a year to be registered for money laundering supervision, while those with a turnover under £5,000 must pay £180 a year. The current annual fee is £130. HMRC says the rise is needed to fund more staff to track down agents who are not compliant with the UK’s money laundering regulations, and to increase the level of education and training. “While we welcome the increased resources from HMRC to tackle the issues around anti-money laundering, we are somewhat surprised at the significant uplift in fees in the region of 250%, particularly at a time when the industry is beleaguered by additional legislation,” says Mark Hayward, Chief Executive, NAEA Propertymark. “However, we look forward to seeing more enforcement activity as a result of the increase.” The fee increases, which apply to all businesses required to register under money laundering regulations including estate agents, accountants and banks, are on top of several other charges levied by HMRC. This includes a £40 fee per employee to…
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Latest property news
Estate agents heavily criticised by MPs within parliamentary report on AML
Report form Treasury Select Committee says agents are weakest link in fighting AML after hearing from NAEA Propertymark and National Crime Agency.
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Features
Washing up
Money laundering isn’t just the preserve of upmarket estate agents selling expensive properties in central London, says HMRC chief Simon York, as criminals increasingly target property to launder their dirty cash.
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Uncategorised
It’s time the industry got serious about money laundering
Forget the near comedy of TV documentary 'From Russia with Russia' - the government is urging estate agents to play their part in tackling the growing levels of much more subtle money laundering in the UK.
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Latest property news
Review and likely overhaul of Rent a Room tax break revealed
An investigation into the effectiveness of the Rent a Room relief and other tax breaks given to private home owners who take in lodgers has begun eight months after it was revealed by the Chancellor in his 2017 Autumn budget speech. The Rent a Room relief enables home owners to earn up to £7,500 in rent tax free and was first introduced in 1992. Then, last year, an additional tax-free allowance of £1,000 was introduced for any other income earned from a home. HMRC and HM Treasury are jointly running the consultation and say they want to understand how many people are using the Rent a Room relief and also the impact it’s having on local private rental property markets. The original reason for introducing the relief was to increase the supply and variety of low-cost housing in the private sector, but the consultation document suggests civil servants are worried that it has instead fuelled a boom in Airbnb short-term booking by holiday makers and business travellers. “The government would like to hear views on whether this is an appropriate use of tax relief, or whether the relief should more explicitly support residential accommodation provided on a longer-term basis, or…
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Latest property news
AIPP asks government to clarify if overseas property agents to face same regulation as UK ones
The Association of International Property Professionals has asked the government to clarify if legislation applies to 'passive' overseas agents.
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