Hammond faces tough vote on Creasy Finance Bill amendment

Chancellor Philip Hammond will face a tricky vote on Tuesday’s Finance Bill, as an amendment to close a tax loophole for foreign property owners is thought to have cross-party support.



The amendment, tabled by Labour’s Stella Creasy, aims to close a purportedly £6bn loophole by making foreign property owners pay capital gains tax on commercial property sales.

Ms Creasy said: “Why should British businesses have to pay this tax but foreign ones get away with it? It should be a level playing field, and we can’t afford to keep giving them a free pass.”

Non-doms have had to pay capital gains tax on residential property sales since the law was changed two years ago.

But it does not cover commercial property sales, meaning foreign owners can avoid a tax bill by designating the property as for commercial use.

Ms Creasy’s amendment to the Finance Bill has also been signed by Tory MP Peter Bottomley.

A Treasury spokeswoman said: “HMRC has seen no evidence of foreign nationals changing the status of their properties to avoid paying capital gains tax”.