WAY back in the day, in 1604 to be precise, judge Sir Edward Coke ruled that an Englishman’s castle is indeed his home.

Coke’s full quote was “that the house of every one is to him as his Castle and Fortress as well for defence against injury and violence, as for his repose”.

Coke made the speech in a common law ruling establishing strict limits on how sheriffs could enter houses for tax collection and law enforcement purposes.

The saying is now generally interpreted to mean that people should have a safe refuge in their home, and that others should only enter by invitation.

However, it appears that Green MSP Ross Greer is about to challenge that centuries-old assertion with his plan to raid homeowners of their cash because their homes are too big.

According to Greer, the introduction of a “mansion tax” on the sale of the most expensive homes would see the money raised being used to protect public services from further cuts.

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Greer, who is the Scottish Greens’ finance spokesman, has called for the Scottish Government to use the upcoming budget to introduce a new band of Land and Buildings Transaction Tax, set at 15 per cent for the purchase of homes costing over £1million.

Currently, the top rate of Land and Buildings Transaction Tax for residential properties is 12% on £750,000 and above.

Greer is now proposing a new 12% rate starting at £650,000 and a 15% rate from £1m.

He said: “A mansion tax on the biggest and most luxurious houses is one of many ways we can raise more money to support services like the NHS while only impacting the very wealthiest people”.

Of course the Greens have form when it comes to hammering property owners with additional taxes.

In 2023, the party doubled council tax on second homes and also increased the Additional Dwelling Supplement, which is paid by those purchasing a property which is not their primary home.

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According to the party, this was done to raise additional funds and to discourage the purchase of holiday homes in areas where they are causing acute housing shortages.

If that really was the case, then it clearly hasn’t worked given many areas still face acute housing shortages.

We know that the Greens are not particularly fond of successful people or aspiration, despite their MSPs receiving more than £72,000 a year each for effectively working a four-day week, compared to the national average of £28,000.

It can be argued that all property taxes are manifestly unfair as the size of your home bears little relation to your salary or disposable income.

Just a cursory glance at the property listings across Scotland will tell you that £650,000 houses in some parts of the country, particularly Edinburgh, are not anything like mansions as Greer claims.

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They are mid-sized family homes, full of people struggling to cope with paying large mortgages just to keep a roof over their heads.

They have no other choice due to a lack of affordable homes.

Many others are lived in by pensioners on a fixed income, who struggle to heat the houses even in summer.

None of these people are “the very wealthiest” people in Scotland as Greer sneeringly claims and they shouldn’t be charged extra just for moving house in the midst of an affordable housing crisis.