On Sun, 14 Aug 2005 02:25:04 +0100, Tom Anderson
wrote:

No, it won't, until they sell.

Or remortgage. Or put the rent up.

Agreed.

Or the owner takes advantage of the increase in value in some other way.
Absolutely.

Unless one felt like making arguments along the lines of the theory that
land taxes are good because they encourage efficient use of land. Which,
right now, i don't.

Retrospective taxes are in all cases unfair, because the "victim" may
not have the means to pay them - so I agree. It should not be charged
until such time as the increased value is realised - and only then on
a part of that increase.

Rising prices nationally should also be taken into account when
determining the figure.

(No, I'm not a homeowner, BTW, I rent, and am perhaps unusually in an
area where, despite the fact that purchase prices have increased by a
factor of nearly 2 in 4 years, rents have hardly changed in that same
amount of time - hence I'm still renting...)

Neil

--
Neil Williams in Milton Keynes, UK
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