ABSTRACT
There are many forms of direct public expenditure on housing, and, in order to make the subsequent discussion more comprehensible, it is necessary to provide some detail of the different types involved. Capital expenditure on housing is of three kinds: the building of council housing, improvement grants, and other grants and loans. Estimates of the distribution of these expenditures have generally been confined to calculating the subsidy received by current council tenants. In the British tax system, there are three main kinds of tax expenditures: owner-occupiers' exemption from capital gains tax when they sell their houses, mortgage interest tax relief and the absence of taxation of 'imputed income'. An important recent influence on social policy towards housing has been a concern for equality. Changes in direct expenditure policies that would affect inequality include reducing council house rents by increasing the general subsidy, raising the income level for eligibility for rent rebates and allowances and the selling of council houses.
