Buy-to-let landlords 'are not victims'

Reports of buy-to-let investors facing a tax crackdown from
HM Revenue & Customs has met with little sympathy from Times
letter writers.

While
HMRC has
stated it was not looking to target buy-to-letters in particular, correspondence
to the paper has seen little sympathy for the tax plight of landlords.

One reader said the middle-aged were buying-to-let and
pricing first-time buyers off the property ladder, and action must be taken to
discourage or at least make it more costly for the landlords.

‘It should not be beyond the
Treasury
to tax in some way all second homes and of the government to stop
council house sales and ensure that councils and housing associations build more
properties to let at reasonable rates,’ said Moira C Young, from London.

‘Good luck to the landlords who have made fortunes from the
rising property market,’ said Robert Saunders from West Sussex, ‘but let us not
kid ourselves that in so doing they are making any greater contribution to
society than a cigarette manufacturer or supercasino operator’.

Further reading:

Buy-to-let investors face
tax crackdown

Taxpayers show little
interest in amnesty offer

HMRC gears up for money
laundering drive