MPs debate taxation of furnished holiday lettings

On 1 May a brief debate – about 25 minutes – took place in Westminster Hall on the chancellor’s proposal to abolish the furnished holiday lettings (FHLs) tax regime. It was instigated by Conservative MP Peter Aldous who was concerned that the measure might have ‘unintended consequences’.

He said that while in parts of the UK holiday lettings might be contributing to local people having problems finding rental properties in others they were ‘a vital component of local economies’. This was the case in his own constituency – Waveney – although he acknowledged there were ‘significant challenges for local people looking to rent a home in nearby Southwold’.

He then set out ‘a few home truths’ about the FHL tax regime. First it was not a tax loophole – it had been introduced in 1984 to cater for the fact that a holiday let...