Opposition Day — [19th Allotted Day] — Tax Fairness

Part of the debate – in the House of Commons at 1:25 pm on 12 March 2013.

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Photo of David Gauke David Gauke The Exchequer Secretary 1:25, 12 March 2013

I am not going to debate at length the spare room subsidy, which is an area of public spending constraint that we need to engage in. There is a genuine issue in respect of the asset-rich, cash-poor that the hon. Member for Nottingham East appeared to recognise and which would have to be addressed.

The mansion tax would be administratively burdensome for HMRC to operate, not to mention intrusive for the person having their home inspected. We would have concerns that in Labour’s hands, the starting level for such a tax would not stay at £2 million for very long. What began as a mansion tax would soon become a homes tax. To coin a phrase, it would become a tax for the many, not for the few.