The increase in sales taxes on second homes in Britain will also apply to people who live abroad.
From April, buyers of second homes and buy-to-lets in the UK will pay stamp duty at 3 percentage points higher than that paid by those buying a home to live in, said UK chancellor of the exchequer George Osborne in November.
Assets outside the UK will be taken into account, according to a consultation document. Stamp-duty will rise to 15 per cent from 12 per cent for homes of £1.5 million and above. Rates of between 3 per cent and 13 per cent will apply to properties with a lower value, up from between 0 per cent and 10 per cent.
“This means that if someone is purchasing their first or only property in England, Wales or Northern Ireland, they may pay the higher rates if they own property outside these areas,” the document shows.
Demand from overseas buyers has contributed to a jump in London house prices, and off-plan sales abroad helped developers finance projects including Battersea Power Station. House prices in the city rose 7.7 per cent in the year through October, according to the UK Office for National Statistics.
