Landlord Voice Magazine February 2016 - Leeds | Page 4

CHERIE BLAIR CALLS
ON EUROPEAN LAW
IN TAX RELIEF FIGHT
L

Photo: Cherie Blair QC

ast month we reported
how two property
investors had raised
£50,000 in just one week to
fund a judicial review which
they hope will overturn plans
laid out to scrap the current
mortgage interest tax relief
available to landlords.

Now Cherie Blair QC,
wife of former PM Tony Blair,
has stepped up to spearhead
the case on the grounds that
the plans set out under the
Finance Act 2015 discriminate
against landlords by denying
them the ability to offset
their financial costs – a right
which is not denied to pension
funds.

Mrs Blair’s law
firm, Omnia, argues this
inconsistency is in breach
of article 1 of the European
Convention on Human Rights.
The proposals - which
were unveiled as
part of the

4 | LandlordVoice | February 2016

“Many landlords
are paying tax
on mortgage
interest and are
being forced
to sell rental
properties”
summer budget and will leave
many landlords paying tax on
mortgage interest and forcing
them to sell rental properties
- are part of a deliberate
strategy to even the playing
field between landlords and
homebuyers.

Chancellor justified the
move in his budget speech by
saying: “Buy-to-let landlords
have a huge advantage in the
market as they can offset their
mortgage interest payments
aga