Buy-to-let landlords have been dealt a new blow in the Budget after the Chancellor abandoned plans to exempt 'significant investors' from the extra 3 per cent stamp duty charges and snubbed them in a capital gains tax cut.
From April, anyone purchasing an additional property will have to pay an extra 3 per cent stamp duty. But George Osborne used his Budget today to reject initial proposals that would have meant 'significant investors' - both companies and individuals - buying more than 15 properties were exempt.
This has removed the loophole that would have allowed buy-to-let investors to club together and buy multiple properties through a company to avoid the extra tax.
And buy-to-let and second homeowners were also deliberately excluded from a big capital gains tax cut from 28 per cent to 20 per cent.
Landlords are already seething from the end of mortgage interest rate relief in 2017 and were prepped at the end of last year for an extra 3 per cent stamp duty charge applying to additional property purchases as of April 2016.
The Treasury snuck out a consultation on 28 December, that closed in February, and the policy set to be introduced in April was finalised today.
The initial consultation suggested there could be some respite for individual investors and companies buying 15 or more properties - the thinking being this being that these people boost the housing stock.
But the policy document today said the government had decided developments would remain attractive even without an exemption although it acknowledged higher rates may have some effect on off-plan purchases.