Kensington Against Dirty Money: Radical reform of tax laws is key to ending the housing crisis.

“One of the key elements to fairer housing is to ensure higher income earners pay the same or an increased proportion of tax on their multi-million pound homes, as the average & low income earners  have to pay in income tax & council tax.” said L’Oreal, a member of Fairer Housing who is in temporary accommodation, waiting for a permanent home.

While exploring these issues with campaign groups specialising in tax reforms, we were introduced to a new group, Kensington Against Dirty Money.  Kensington residents have more than their share of very rich people owning huge multi-million pound homes and some of them have been hitting the headlines recently, namely Russian oligarchs, whose wealth has often been acquired through highly questionable means and laundered through off-shore Companies.   

Vera Dhupa, CEO of the Westway Trust, commented: “None of us want money from questionable sources washing through our streets, so we need to support any processes that would enable greater scrutiny.  This is even more essential when the lack of housing for the most vulnerable in our borough is considered. Currently over 3,000 households in Kensington are on a waiting list for more appropriate housing, and thousands of households are in temporary accommodation.”

Fairer Housing was pleased to support the launch of this new campaign on 11 March, outside Thornwood Gardens, an estate of huge ‘Lodges’, many owned by oligarchs.  The launch event demonstrated a graphic image of ‘money laundering’.