LONDON (Reuters) - British finance minister Jeremy Hunt said he would abolish tax breaks for furnished holiday lets, such as those advertised on Airbnb, to make more property available for rent by locals in tourist hotspots like Cornwall and central London.
Owners of short-term holiday lets have enjoyed preferential treatment compared with owners of long-term lets, such as being able to offset mortgage interest payments against profits and using income for tax-advantaged pension contributions.
"I am concerned that this tax regime is creating a distortion meaning that there are not enough properties available for long-term rental by local people," Hunt said in his budget speech to parliament on Wednesday.
"So to make the tax system work better for local communities, I am going to abolish the Furnished Holiday Lettings regime."
Experts quoted by the Daily Telegraph newspaper have said the move could generate an estimated 300 million pounds ($382 million) a year for the government.
($1 = 0.7861 pounds)