James Cleverly, the prospective Conservative candidate for Mayor of London, has announced his intention to oppose Andy Burnham's proposed reduction of the 'Family Homes Tax' threshold to £1.5m. Cleverly argues that this change would disproportionately impact London, where £1.5m often buys a flat or an ordinary terraced house.
The 'Family Homes Tax', previously announced by Rachel Reeves, currently imposes a surcharge of £2,500 to £7,500 annually on homes valued over £2m. Cleverly claims that lowering the threshold to £1.5m would increase the number of affected homes across England to 271,000, with nearly 62,000 additional properties in London alone.
Cleverly stated that 60% of homeowners who would be subject to the tax bought their homes for less than £1.5m, suggesting they are being caught by house price inflation. He also noted that Mayor Sadiq Khan now opposes the proposed tax threshold reduction.