What we know about the mansion tax – and will the threshold be lowered?

• Homes valued at £1.5m will avoid Labour ’s proposed mansion tax after John Healey rejected plans to lower the starting threshold from £2m.
• Maintaining the £2m threshold prevents an additional 137,000 property owners from being brought into the tax net before the annual levy begins in April 2028.
• Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has pledged to scrap the mansion tax and eliminate death duties on family homes.
• Mr Healey faces wider fiscal pressure to cut spending or raise taxes due to rising borrowing costs linked to the conflict in Iran.
• The International Monetary Fund upgraded the UK’s 2026 growth forecast to 1.3 per cent, citing economic gains driven by artificial intelligence.

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