This is the last blog that I am going to write in relation to this topic, for now anyway, but I just wanted to round off my series on the type of support that the Government needs to be giving the BTL sector. I really think it is time we all made our voices heard on this issue.
I touched on the idea of landlords being treated as traders in the last blog and I want to go into a little more detail here. The Government actually commissioned a review into this topic, the Rugg review. When they returned with their findings, one of the strongest recommendations was that private landlords be treated like businesses. Julie Rugg, head of the review, outlined to the government how important it was that landlords were taxed in the same way as other businesses. Until now they have ignored her.
The private rented sector is becoming acknowledged as the key provider of homes in the UK and this is not something that is going to go away with the recession. It started before the recession and will continue long after it. The way taxation is applied will play a vital part in how healthy this sector remains and at the moment that could mean the difference between the population having homes or not.
It is no longer just a matter of looking after private landlords, the Government needs to look after us so we can help to make other people’s lives better. These taxation changes must be made for the good of the nation’s economy.
