Labour leader Burnham eyes lower mansion tax threshold

Andy Burnham, the frontrunner to become Britain's next prime minister, is considering significant reforms to property and wealth taxation that could increase bills for hundreds of thousands of homeowners, particularly in London and the South East. As he prepares to potentially succeed Keir Starmer in the coming weeks, Burnham has signaled openness to tax changes within the constraints of Labour's 2024 manifesto, which ruled out increases to income tax, National Insurance, and VAT.

Central to the discussions is a proposal to broaden an existing "mansion tax" plan. The policy, scheduled to take effect in April 2028, currently targets properties valued over £2 million. Burnham is reportedly considering lowering that threshold to £1.5 million, a move that analysts say could affect an additional 150,000 families, saddling them with annual tax increases in the thousands of pounds. Because property values are higher in southern England, the change would disproportionately impact homeowners in that region.

In tandem, Burnham has expressed a personal desire to reform council tax, which he has called "highly regressive" due to its basis on 1991 property valuations. He is considering...