Capital gains on second homes

[quiggers59]

If Home Secretary Jaqui Smith is treating her family (Redditch) home as her second home for reasons of bleeding the system then the question I would love to know is this.

When and if Mrs Smith sells this property,and the way things are at present that could be sooner rather than later,will she have to pay capital gains tax as it is not her primary residence?

One should not heap misery on a politician under great personal pressure but the lack of a moral compass beggars normal sympathy.What sthe view on this

[buildersmate]

I think it is a great story and you should contact The Daily Mail immediately. The more pressure to get this ridiculous situation sorted out, the better.
She can't have it both ways - if she elects to have the London relative's house as her principal residence, then that's the one that 'counts' for relief from CGT - even though she can't claim the relief as someone else owns it (the relative).
One suspects that she would find a way of wriggling from this, by having her film-buff husband as sole owner of the Redditch house.

[Barmaid]

All she needs to do is move back in for 6 months before she sells it.