The Lib Dems are proud that the budget retains their plans for a rise in capital gains tax, and rightwing calls for a taper relief have been rejected.

He added that the new rate "takes us back to a similar rate to where we were under the pre-2008 rules, when taper relief was able to reduce a 40% headline rate of CGT to 24%".

But speculation is now mounting that the chancellor, George Osborne, may introduce transitional measures to soften the blow, such as taper relief, or possibly classifying buy-to-let properties as a business investment, allowing them to be taxed at a lower CGT rate.

Maybe he will introduce some sort of transitional arrangement, perhaps a form of taper relief, to ensure a more orderly market.