Eyebrows Raised Over Reeves’ ‘Two Homes’ Tax History – Guido Fawkes

EXC: Eyebrows Raised Over Reeves’ ‘Two Homes’ Tax History

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Rachel from Accounts gives her Mansion House speech this evening. Business and ‘working people’ alike are worried about the threat of new taxes on ‘wealth’. Labour’s refusal to rule out a wealth tax and alternatives such as hikes to capital gains tax are weighing heavy right now…

So what about the wealth of the Chancellor herself? Like the vast majority of Brits, the majority of her personal wealth has been tied up in property. Anyone looking to obtain details of Reeves’s former stated address details on Companies House has been blocked since December last year. Why delete an address 12 years after she moved out?

On 31 March 2004 Reeves bought a flat in Lewisham for £170,995. She remained the owner during her time working in Leeds…

Soon after, on 29 April 2004, Reeves was registered on HM Land Registry documents as living in a flat on Park Square in Leeds – located close to the city centre. According to LinkedIn she was working in the Bank of England’s ‘Structural Analysis Economic analysis division’ from 2004 to March 2006…

On 11 December 2006, some six months after the BBC reported that she began working for HBOS in Leeds, Reeves bought another property for £210,000, a house in the Kirkstall area of the city, which has since been described as “one of the most architecturally exciting homes in Leeds.” Reeves appears to have been the registered owner of two residences simultaneously at an early point in her working career…

The flat in Lewisham was sold on 12 February 2010 for £220,000, an on paper capital gain of £49,000. The property in Kirkstall, Leeds was sold on 28 September 2012 for £220,000 as well – an on paper capital gain of £10,000. Official documents suggest Reeves rented out the Lewisham property while she was living in Leeds. There are tax implications to many property transactions, especially when multiple properties are in question…

What does this reveal? First, it shows that Reeves was no slouch at asset accumulation – despite her now making moves towards taxing the wealth of everyone else. Second, for the duration of the time a property is rented out, it cannot qualify for the ‘principal private residence’ exemption from capital gains tax. Any rental income also has to be declared for tax purposes. Did Reeves pay the full capital gains tax due on the sale of her properties? Surely…