According to the Guardian, a controversial tax has been proposed where all home owners and landlords in the UK whose property is kept empty would have to pay an ‘empty property tax’, like those in the commercial sector.

The tax has been proposed by British union leader Brendan Barber to Chancellor Alistair Darling and if approved would bring in an anticipated £5bn with approximately one million properties likely to fall under its remit. It is likely to cost individual landlords, on average, over £5,875 for each empty property.

The proposal would also overseas affect those landlords that live overseas as they would become liable for British income tax on any rental revenue their properties accrue.
Barber reasoned that the tax would help keep the Government’s ballooning deficit under control, while also helping to solve the housing shortage in parts of the UK. He will present his findings later this month at an economic conference in London, focusing on what he sees as a major housing shortage and social crisis in the Capital