Gordon Brown warns UK property is already heavily taxed
Former UK prime minister Gordon Brown has warned Prime Minister Andy Burnham and Chancellor John Healey not to hike property taxes in next month's Budget, saying UK homes are already 'heavily' taxed and that existing levies such as council tax and stamp duty should be reformed first.
Key Takeaways
- Gordon Brown told The Rest Is Money podcast that property in Britain is already taxed "quite heavily" as part of a wealth tax.
- He urged reform of council tax and stamp duty rather than simply raising property taxes in the upcoming Budget.
- Prime Minister Andy Burnham has ruled out stamp duty changes on 28 October, while signalling longer-term "fairness" reforms that could hit London.
- Burnham previously backed replacing council tax and stamp duty with a proportional property tax that could add about £7.5 billion in London bills.
The intervention, reported by The Telegraph, arrives as Downing Street weighs options ahead of the autumn Budget and luxury homeowners watch for further high-value levies. Readers following UK housing and tax shifts can also browse BlasterPost's Luxury Real Estate & Dream Homes coverage.
What did Gordon Brown say about property taxes?
Speaking on The Rest Is Money podcast, Gordon Brown argued that Britain already taxes property quite heavily through wealth-related charges. "The funny thing is that property is taxed quite heavily in Britain as part of a wealth tax. So I think you've got to look at a reform of existing taxes," he said, according to Telegraph reporting cited by The Negotiator.
Brown pointed specifically at council tax and stamp duty. "If you're taxed on property only because it's the Council Tax, or when you transfer your property, which is the Stamp Duty, then people may say, well, you know, is that the best way of taxing wealth? And I think that's what the Government should look at," he added.
His message to Burnham and Healey was clear: do not treat a fresh property-tax rise as the easy Budget fix when the system itself may need redesign.
Why does this warning matter for Burnham's Budget?
The Budget is due on 28 October. Burnham has ruled out stamp duty changes in that package, according to The Negotiator, after earlier support for Fairer Share's plan to replace council tax and stamp duty with a proportional property tax.
Under that scheme, homeowners would pay an annual levy of 0.48% of a home's value — about £1,440 a year on a £300,000 property. Estate agency Knight Frank has also warned that the existing mansion tax could prove only "introductory rates," keeping pressure on higher-end homes even if stamp duty stays put for now.
Brown's caution therefore lands in a narrow window: borrowing costs are rising, but a blunt property hike risks clashing with a former Labour premier who says the burden is already heavy.
Could London face higher homes taxes later?
In an exclusive interview with the London Evening Standard, Burnham stressed "fairness" in how homes are taxed and said he does not want resentment toward London from elsewhere in Britain. He has no imminent plan for major reform "in this moment," but hinted further changes could come later in his premiership.
He previously backed replacing council tax and stamp duty with a proportional property tax that could leave London with a £7.5 billion additional bill. He also backed former chancellor Rachel Reeves' mansion tax on homes worth £2 million or more, most of which sit in London or the South East.
For owners of high-value and luxury real estate, the near-term picture is no stamp-duty overhaul — while the longer-term risk remains a fairness-driven property levy tilted toward the capital.