Decision on judicial review of buy to let tax changes expected to be known soon

The people behind the campaign to seek a judicial review of the buy to let tax changes proposed by Chancellor George Osborne say they should hear soon whether the challenge can go ahead.

“Our application to the court for a Judicial Review was lodged in mid February. A joint response came back from HMRC and the Treasury by way of their Acknowledgment of Service. We worked closely with our lawyers and have sent a robust response to the courts to counter the issues raised. We are now waiting for the court to rule whether we have permission to proceed to a full Judicial Review hearing” say the campaigners. 

Letting Agent Today has already extensively covered the attempt by landlords Steve Bolton and Chris Cooper to secure a review of section 24 of the Finance (No. 2) Act 2015 which includes the proposed restriction of mortgage interest tax relief at a basic rate, even for higher rate-paying landlords. This follows Osborne’s announcement on the interest tax relief change, initially made back in July. 

“With the facts at hand, we are confident that we will have the chance to fight our case in court. Our hearing, if granted, is expected to happen this autumn, which gives us time to launch subsequent fundraising campaigns and prepare the best possible legal case” says the campaign.

In the meantime the campaigners say they are changing the name of the campaign to ‘Tenant Tax‘ with the strapline ‘Landlords Fight Back’. 

The proposed London event to galvanise opposition has now been moved from June 10 to June 9. 

Organisers say this will “bring together hundreds of landlords, tenants, letting agents, industry organisations and luminaries in various fields” with the objectives to raise funds for the campaign, increase awareness and media exposure, and to give opponents of the measures “practical strategies and tools they can take home and action.“