MPs’ tax probe on profit from their string of house ‘swaps’ | The Sun |News.

I spent a lot of time this weekend talking to journalists about MP's tax.

What none of them could seem to get was the fact that the last three years of occuptation of a property which has at any time been your main residence are a deemed period of capital gains tax free occupation.

There may well be remarkablty little tax to be had from these investigations - and that's becasue the tax rules available to all who have two homes guarantees this.

The real question is 'why are we so generous to second homes?'

Or even 'Why don't we tax housing when it is is clear that by not doing so we have massively increased the cost of living?'

I am not for a minute excusing MPs behaviour. But there's no point looking for a remedy that does not exist. Let's change the system.