Details in the Budget show a consultation will be launched in January 2019.
The government has proposed a 1% stamp duty surcharge for non-residents buying property in England and Northern Ireland.
Details in the Budget show a consultation will be launched in January 2019.
Charlie Wells, managing director of buying agency Prime Purchase, is not impressed with the move.
He said: “On the one hand, the government claims to champion social mobility and diversity but on the other, it is saying that if you are foreign you are not welcome. There is no logic to it.
“If this government thinks that penalising the people at the top, particularly foreigners, will revitalise the economy and get things going, then it is very wrong.
“It is hard enough trying to sell a property in this market and any community which has had the fortunate experience of a foreign or UK-based buyer purchasing a large house in their area will have benefited from the spin-off prosperity this brings countless people.”
It was previously speculated that foreign buyers could face an additional 3% charge.
