Landlords and investors face paying tax on their losses because of tinkering under New Labour, as well as a government raid on profits. Capital gains tax used to take into account inflation as measured by the Retail Price Index, which meant investors only paid tax on their real gains, and not inflation on top. This was the case from 1982 up until Tony Blair’s government scrapped indexation for individuals in 1998. With inflation low, former chancellor Gordon Brown decided that indexation was unnecessary and replaced it with taper relief, a system that rewarded people for holding on to assets for longer. But taper relief – which sheltered more of the gain from tax the longer an investment was held – made CGT even more complicated, and so Alistair Darling eventually abolished it in 2008. Since then, there has been very little tinkering with capital gains tax. Today, investors can earn up to a certain amount each year – their annual allowance – before having to pay tax on their gains at a flat rate, which varies depending on your income and the asset you’re disposing of. But the current system has become more penalising of late due to rampant inflation...