Treasury officials have begun work on mansion tax, says minister

Danny Alexander (Reuters)

A mansion tax could be imposed as early as next year and officials have already put in “a lot of effort” to make it work, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury has revealed.

Danny Alexander said enough preparation had been completed that it might be possible to make the new tax one of the first measures brought in by whoever wins the 2015 election.

He maintained, in an interview with the Daily Telegraph, that there was growing support for a tax on the wealthiest homes, a measure which has been championed by his Party, the Liberal Democrats, and also has the support of the Labour Party.

“There’s a consensus among the public that a modest additional levy on higher value properties is a fair and reasonable thing to do in the context of further deficit reduction. It is important that the burden is shared,” he said.

Mr Alexander insisted that such a tax would not be “punitive” and that officials have been working on the mechanisms that would be required to apply the measure.

The majority of homes thought likely to be caught by a mansion tax are in London and the South-East of England and Boris Johnson, the Mayor of London, has vowed to oppose it.