Angelina Jolie has indicated that Labour’s proposals for a so-called ‘mansion tax’ on high-end properties may put an end to any plans for her and her husband, fellow Hollywood A-lister Brad Pitt, to follow the example of the recently married film star George Clooney in buying a family home in the UK
The star, who was in the UK to promote the film Unbroken which she directed, said in a TV interview that a mansion tax could put her off a house purchase in this country, even though she is ‘quite fond’ of England.
Jolie and Pitt, who have six children, were reported to be looking at properties around London and to have recently viewed a £25m penthouse close to celebrity hang-out, the Chiltern Firehouse restaurant, in the Marylebone area of the city.
However, when told in a Channel 4 news interview of the mansion tax idea, Jolie said: ‘I’m quite responsible about money. That could put me off. I have lived here before and in the future I think it would be really nice to have a foothold here for work.’
Jolie is the latest in a string of high profile stars of stage and screen who have expressed criticism of Labour’s proposals for a tax on properties worth over £2m. Last week Myleene Klass took Labour leader Ed Miliband to task over the concept on a TV chat show, saying the levy would hit ‘little grannies’ living in modest homes in London rather than the super-rich.
Earlier this month millionaire comedian Griff Rhys Jones said he could leave the country over the mansion tax, claiming the proposals could result in him paying a ‘colossal amount of tax’ on his home in London and he would probably choose to live abroad instead.
Wildlife television presenter Bill Oddie has declared the mansion tax is the reason he would not be backing Labour ‘this time’ but will be voting for the Green Party at next May's general election.
Labour has said that the mansion tax would contribute £1.2bn towards the party’s aims of raising £2.5bn annually for the NHS to help pay for thousands more nurses, doctors, nurses and other healthcare workers. However, the tax would fall disproportionately on properties in London and the southeast, although asset poor owners could defer payment until a house sale or add it to their inheritance tax bill in such circumstances. The annual charge is likely to be £10,000 per property over the £2m mark.
