Mansion tax

[3] In its original form, proposed in 2009,[4] Cable suggested that all properties valued at over £1 million would be taxed annually.

[4] In an accommodation with Coalition partners, the proposal was modified and a 7% rate of Stamp Duty Land Tax was levied on house sales over £2 million, following George Osborne's 2012 budget.

The motion called for "an annual mansion tax on the excess value of residential properties over £2 million as a first step towards wealth taxation designed to reduce inequality".

[9] On 20 October 2014 in response to widespread publicity about the proposal, the Shadow chancellor Ed Balls published further details.

[10] Commentators have suggested that in order to raise the projected £1.2 billion, the mansion tax payable on homes over £3 million would have to be £28,000.

[12] Nick Clegg, speaking on the BBC during the Liberal Democrat Party Conference 2014, said: "I went off, big time, the idea that you have a fixed levy as a percentage over a certain value.

Such a modification to the mansion tax has been suggested by Mark Field,[17] an MP in central London, where overseas ownership of property is commonplace.

There are perceptions that the high cost of housing in London is in part due to a disproportionate amount of residential property being owned by non-resident, non-tax paying foreigners,[18] and that a modified mansion tax may alleviate this issue.