Will UK tax foreign-owned property sales? Osborne to announce decision on Dec 4

[LONDON] A UK Treasury minister signalled that foreigners who own British homes will find out next month whether the government will slap an unprecedented tax on property sales.

"You'll have to wait for the Autumn Statement" on Dec 4, when Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne presents new economic forecasts, Financial Secretary to the Treasury Sajid Javid said in an interview, when asked whether the government is planning a capital gains tax on foreign investors selling property in the UK.

Mr Osborne is considering such a levy to curb rising house prices in London and the south-east of England, Sky News television reported last week, without saying where it got the information. Overseas demand is adding to pressure on a market experiencing a shortage of supply. Rightmove plc said on Oct 21 that values in the capital rose more than 10 per cent last month.