Bell calls on Treasury not to extend new development windfall tax to Northern Ireland
Billy Bell MLA, Ulster Unionist Assembly Member for Lagan Valley, today called for the Treasury to reconsider their proposal extending a controversial land windfall tax to Northern Ireland.
“Government proposals to take a slice from profits made by building homes on new sites will place upward, inflationary pressures on Northern Ireland house prices at a time when many young couples are finding it difficult to purchase their first home and get a step on the first rung of the housing ladder,” said Mr Bell.
“All that will happen is that developers will be forced to pass this increased cost on to the house purchasers and that will put the price of new homes up still further.”
“Reports suggest that the new tax will be 20%. That is a hefty slice of anyone’s profits. It’s all very well to slag off developers and make out that they are well off already. But no new homes would be built without them. It is facile to suggest that this additional cost will not end up by putting house prices up still further. I speak as the MLA for an area – Lisburn - where house prices are already far above the Northern Ireland average.” .
“The Northern Ireland Housing Bulletin showed that the average selling price of an NHBC-registered house in Northern Ireland was £134,000. This is an increase of £18,000 (15.5%) on the same quarter in 2004. Lisburn and Hillsborough are well in excess of that. This will push up prices still further at a time when, according to the Alliance & Leicester Building Society, a quarter of young married couples want to buy their own home but cannot afford to do so and only 13% are actually in a position to buy a home.”
“This new windfall tax is coming at a time when the Government should be helping rather than hindering the economy. This is just more Direct Rule bullying. The Assembly must be restored as soon as possible to protect the public here from the ravages of direct rule,” said Mr Bell.