For some gloriously garbled landlord special pleading, have a look at Say "No" To George, spotted by Thomas Hall.
As Babs says on the Contact page:
I think some of the arguments need to be developed further before significant traffic and inconsistencies need to be checked. For example, in some parts, you say that house prices will drop, and then for first time buyers the argument says that house prices will not drop.
An example of their Doublespeak from the Landlords page:
EVERY OTHER BUSINESS IN THE LAND IS ALLOWED TO OFFSET THEIR TOTAL COSTS AGAINST THEIR INCOME BEFORE BEING TAXED (ON THEIR PROFIT). IF YOU BELIEVE THAT YOUR PROPERTY INVESTMENT IS TO BE TAXED UNFAIRLY THEN JOIN THE PETITION!
So is being a landlord a "business" or is it "investment"? For tax purposes, those are two quite separate concepts:
If it is a "business", then yes, they would get a full deduction for the costs of furniture and interest, but rents would be liable to VAT and net profit liable to Class 4 NIC as well as income tax.
And if it is "investment" then there would be no deduction for any costs whatsoever, the same as dividend and interest income.
Debate Magazine
