Council Tax in the UK isn't a percentage of the value of the property. It's an annual charge which varies according to the bank your property falls in. A local

Council Tax in the UK isn't a percentage of the value of the property. It's an annual charge which varies according to the bank your property falls in. A local council sets the charge for 'band C' (I think) and the rest are calculated from that. (This then pays for rubbish collection, libraries, all that sort of stuff.) If you're buying a property as an investment, council tax isn't hugely relevant. If the property is occupied, the occupant pays it. (Unless they're exempt, like students are.) If the property is empty you don't need to pay it for up to six months. So the tax does scale according to the value of your property (ie, your wealth) and is an attempt at progressive taxation, but it's not a direct tax on that wealth. If you're buying investment property in the UK, your tax liability is going to be income tax on the income and capital gains tax if the market value of the property has risen. In addition you'll have to pay Council Tax based on the property you're living in, regardless of if you own or rent it.