Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of a levy on foreign ownership of residential properties.

Non-UK residents purchasing residential property in England or Northern Ireland currently pay a 2 percentage point Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) surcharge on top of the standard residential SDLT rates.

The Government keeps all tax policy under review and would have to consider the merits of any new taxes in the round as part of a fiscal event. The Chancellor will set out her Budget on the 30th October.