This has divided property experts in London. They want a workable replacement for stamp duty, but worry a mansion or wealth tax will penalise retirees who have lived in a home that has accrued value dramatically over decades and quash an already sluggish central London market. As with all tax changes, there will be winners and losers, but a flat land or property tax would disproportionally hit London households, especially in areas such as Hackney, where the average cost of a semi-detached house has leapt from £570,470 in 2012 to £1,181,319 now. There are also fears that if a homeowner has recently moved and paid stamp duty, with the change of prime minister, they could be hit with an annual property tax too.
