Mansion tax fears on historic treasures

In a letter to the Yorkshire Post today, owners of 20 privately-owned historic houses in Yorkshire warn that art collections and gardens would be "irrevocably dispersed or lost to public view" because of the headline-grabbing charge – designed to soak the rich – when it is already a struggle to repair and maintain their properties.

The charge – one per cent of the value of properties over 2m – would leave an historic property worth 10m with a bill for an extra 100,000 every year.

But the owners argue that by attracting 14 million visitors a year and hosting public events they are good for the economy and are already facing a 390m backlog of repairs.

The Liberal Democrats insist the charge – part of a "fair tax" package to raise the income tax threshold – would not apply to parts of the property which are classed as a business.

But owners say that would still leave them with huge bills and question how the final bill would be calculated.

Signatories of the letter include David Cameron's father-in-law Sir Reginald Sheffield, owner of Sutton Park, as well as the owners of Bramham Park and Ripley Castle. "The proposed tax would inevitably mean that much of our heritage in private hands would have to be sold, or allowed to fall into terminal disrepair.

"It is unlikely that new buyers would bother to open. Certainly not only the collections of art, but also the wonderful gardens which now form part of the attraction would be irrevocably dispersed or lost to public view. In conclusion, far from raising easy tax from the super rich, the proposed mansion tax would hit hard those of us who struggle to maintain Britain's heritage."

The Liberal Democrats hope to raise 1.7bn from the mansion tax.

A spokesman for the party said: "Yorkshire's historical homes play an important role in our culture; providing vital employment, protecting our heritage and attracting visitors to the region.

"We recognise this and as many of Britain's public properties are run as businesses, the owners' pay business rates and the levy would not apply.

"We believe the current tax system is fundamentally unfair. By placing a tax on grand private homes worth more than 2m we can help lift more than 3.5 million people on low wages out of paying income tax altogether.

"By raising the tax threshold to 10,000 more than 400,000 working people in Yorkshire would not pay any income tax at all."