First of all, appologies if this subject has been raised before in this forum and I have missed it. We all know the BTL magic formula of buying, letting, waiting, re-mortgaging, taking out the cash for the next deal and never, ever selling. All very good and this is obviously working for many people. I'm afraid I'm pretty cynical and can't believe that Gordon Brown will continue to allow this method of taking tax free profits out of property. I know the old adage of him not being able to tax a debt but surely one day his boffins will find a way? None of the BTL hype ever raises this possibility so maybe I am off on one! Anyone with any thoughts on this?

This is a vital question. I asked my accountant a few months ago. He thought that the most likely option that a Chancellor would take would be some kind of property holding tax. You have to give the Government 1% of your portfolio value each year, perhaps. Some other countries have something similar. It is not that likely, I guess, by the time the Government decided it was needed B2L would be even more dominant. The impact might be a sudden selling of investment properties and a 1989-style crash. A chancellor would not want to risk that if he/she planned to win the subsequent general election.