UK Mansion Tax Won’t Rest at £2 Million: Matthew Brooker

Taxing expensive homes to raise less than 0.1% of total government receipts is hardly a fiscal revolution. But the modest beginnings of Britain’s proposed mansion tax shouldn’t obscure its potential significance. History and international experience suggest the high-value council tax surcharge is likely to become bigger and broader in scope as time goes on. A shiny new dial has been created on the fiscal dashboard; the temptation to turn it will be hard to resist.

UK property taxes may start out temporary and small, but they tend to stay and grow. Stamp duty, for instance, began in 1694 as a levy ...