Prime Minister Liz Truss is expected to announce a cut in stamp duty property tax in this week’s mini-budget in an effort to drive economic growth.
Stamp duty tax is paid on increasing portions of the property price when one buys a property or land in England and Northern Ireland. Under the current system, no stamp duty is paid on the first £125,000,
with the threshold for first-time buyers set at £300,000. The amount to pay depends on whether the land or property is for residential use, non-residential, or mixed-use.
Some experts in the property industry believe a review and reform of stamp duty tax is “well overdue.”
A stamp duty holiday implemented during the height of the pandemic contributed to a property market boom. Similarly, a reduction in the tax this time around would be expected to stimulate buyer demand, encouraging activity in a housing market that is starting to show signs of slowing down amid consecutive interest rate increases.
“The rates and thresholds on this property tax haven’t changed since 2014, meaning home buyers and home-movers are being hit harder and harder as house prices climb higher,” Jonathan Stinton, head of intermediary relationships at Coventry Building Society, commented. “The case for reducing this burden on homebuyers while still generating similar tax receipts has already been made.
