Only one Middlesbrough property will pay new mansion tax

The annual charge will vary, depending on the specific value of £2m+ properties, with four separate fees, all of which will come on top of existing council tax. The lowest band (of £2,500) will hit properties valued between £2m and £2.5m, which will affect the one Middlesbrough dwelling valued at approximately £2.4m.

Charges will increase for houses worth more and more – the highest charge of £7,500 will hit homes valued at £5m or more. It has been noted that the majority of the properties affected by this new surcharge are in London. In terms of revenue raising, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) expects the policy to bring in about £400m a year by 2029-30.

During a Middlesbrough Executive (Labour) meeting, held on Wednesday December 3, Councillor Luke Henman asked executive member for finance, Councillor Nicky Walker if she welcomed the government’s mansion tax, in relation to an agenda item about the calculation of council tax bases for 2026/27. He described it as “a means of redistributing money to areas like ours”.

Cllr Walker welcomed the principle of the new surcharge but also responded that only one property in Middlesbrough would qualify for the mansion tax, so she pondered if the figure needed to be set at a different level to have any impact in areas such as Middlesbrough.

Cllr Henman clarified that it was his understanding that money would be taken from other areas and “reshuffled” so Middlesbrough wouldn’t simply be receiving income from the town’s own mansions.

Middlesbrough Mayor Chris Cooke confirmed that he and local Labour were supportive of the mansion tax, adding: “We’re not going to seek to build mansions.” 

Cllr Walker meanwhile said: “It’s a step in the right direction but we need more radical reform than that.” The executive member was referring to the wider “very unfair” council tax system, that sees properties taxed on what their value was or would have been in 1991. This situation has left politicians in the region annoyed by what they see as Teesside being penalised and in some cases, local residents paying higher amounts of council tax than people in affluent areas in London.