Adjustment of Inheritance Tax thresholds

Stephanie McMahon, Head of Research at Strutt & Parker, said: “There has been a lot of pressure on Mr Osborne to change the unpopular Inheritance Tax thresholds for some time, from homeowners who felt that paying two hefty sums of tax on their property (stamp duty on purchase and inheritance tax on death) was excessive. A survey in March by YouGov, found that 59% of voters thought the tax was unfair.

“Now the chancellor has announced that as of April 2017, the Inheritance Tax threshold will be phased up to increase to £1m by 2020-21. This gradual raising of the threshold over four years will allow a couple to pass a house worth up to £1m to their children or grandchildren upon death without incurring a tax charge. The change is not as instant as some homeowners might have hoped for, but it will still benefit the vast majority of homeowners.

“This could mean that older people with larger homes could be discouraged from downsizing later in life – therefore not freeing up larger family homes that are in high demand and short supply. Under-occupation in the UK is a big issue and this could potentially exacerbate the problem.

“Mr Osborne has tackled this by making sure that if someone downsizes before they die, their tax-free exemption will stay at the value of the house that they sold – which reduces the disincentive to downsize, but may not remove it entirely for those expecting the value of their home to increase who wish to pass as much wealth as possible onto their families.”

Non-dom status

Stephanie McMahon, Head of Research at Strutt & Parker, said: “Mr Osborne’s tax reforms on UK ‘non-doms’ were overdue and welcome as the non-dom status in Britain was considered to be somewhat archaic. It sends a clear signal that those who chose to settle in UK for the long term will have to pay equal taxes to other UK citizens.

“I would argue that these measures are unlikely to have a significant dampening effect on the globe’s perception of London as the financial capital of the world. The wealthiest non-doms are likely to simply respond to these non-dom status changes by making themselves ‘non-resident’ in the eyes of the law and reducing the number of days they spend in Britain.”

Tax perks for buy-to-let borrowers

Stephanie McMahon, Head of Research at Strutt & Parker, said: “There was much speculation that Mr Osborne would end tax perks for landlords in today’s Budget but the actuality was more measured. Now mortgage interest relief for buy-to-let homebuyers will be restricted to the basic rate of income tax, phased in over the next four years from 2017.

“Additionally, from April 2016, residential landlords will no longer be able to deduct 10% of their rent from their profit to account for wear and tear on their properties, irrespective of their expenditure. They will only be able to deduct costs that they actually incur.

“These new measures deal with the perceived unfairness whilst cushioning those buy-to-let investors whom rely on the income to provide a retirement income. This could have the effect of giving the UK’s fledgling Private Rented Sector a boost. Those who own and rent out more than one property may now be more encouraged to invest in property via an institution.

“15% of new mortgages are buy-to-let and the market is growing fast, so the impact of this change on the property market should not be under-estimated.”

Extended Sunday opening hours

Rob Williams, Head of Retail Agency and Development at Strutt & Parker, said: “Extended Sunday opening hours will be good news for the destination shopping centres with a high provision of food and leisure operators.

"Most people in the UK still work a traditional Monday to Friday week and will be keen to take advantage of the later opening times of cinemas and restaurants within shopping centres and this increased footfall will undoubtedly have a knock on effect for traditional retailers.

"For the leading centres increased footfall will lead to higher sales turnover which then has potential for stronger rental growth. However in more secondary centres there is an argument that consumers have a finite amount of money to be spend and rather than seeing an increase in sales and footfall, it will just be reallocated throughout the week.”