Thousands of people who had already invested in residential property, hoping to cash in on tax concessions they would receive by transferring the properties into self-invested personal pensions (sipps) next April, have been stung by the chancellor’s last minute decision to exclude residential property from sipps. Investors who had already bought property off-plan with the prospect of qualifying for a 40% tax break so long as the development was completed after April 6 now face the prospect of paying full tax on it. The decision is also expected to also cost the property industry, particularly developers who had targeted apartment developments specifically at sipps investors. RICS had estimated that sipps would have led to a 3-4% increase in property sales. (The Telegraph)