FT: Concern grows over 'bombsite Britain' tax

FT: Concern grows over 'bombsite Britain' tax British cities are “beginning to look like broken teeth”, with hundreds of buildings being razed as the result of a damaging tax on empty property, a government regeneration chief said on Friday. The levy on empty shops, offices and warehouses introduced in April this year has been dubbed by private and public sector opponents the “bombsite Britain tax”. Aimed at landlords who left buildings deliberately empty as they waited for rents to rise, it intended to reduce rents, raise property supply and earn the Treasury almost £1bn in tax. But opponents say it is leading to properties being demolished across Britain, with Swindon Council, for example, saying it will crush a factory on a 14-acre site at North Star Avenue in the town to avoid paying £110,000 in tax. The demolition costs £430,000.