‘Labour's mansion tax will be a disaster’

Does a fresh lick of paint in the kitchen increase the value of the house? Or a heated towel rail in the bathroom? Or an attractive water feature at the back of the garden? We learned this week that the government is planning to appoint teams of inspectors to visit people's homes, and decide whether the owner has to pay the new “mansion tax”. An extra levy will be imposed on homes worth more than £2 million, on a sliding scale going up to beyond £5 million. It is meant to