The chancellor’s decision to introduce a six-month extension of the government’s stamp duty holiday prompted a sharp rise in demand for home loans, proving an extra boost to an already strong housing market, the latest figures from the Bank of England revealed this week.
Following the success of the stamp duty holiday, there have been calls to cut stamp duty permanently, as part of a radical post-Covid overhaul to boost investment.
A number of think tanks, including Bright Blue and the Centre for Policy Studies, have argued that scrapping the stamp duty holiday would stimulate greater activity in the housing market.
MPs on the Treasury Committee have also recommended that stamp duty be reformed after witnesses to its inquiry into tax after coronavirus described it as not being fit for purpose.
But the government has this week rejected calls to introduce a permanent stamp duty holiday for property purchasers. But do you agree with their decision? Let us know what you think:
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The Government has this week rejected calls for a permanent cut to stamp duty.
And so let’s have a poll to see whether we agree with the Government. For what purpose?
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None whatsoever !
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Another question; If we scrap stamp duty where does the government get the revenue to replace it with? Actually reform is what is needed, not scrapping.
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I’ve never understood the logic behind having a tax where the majority of people don’t pay it, and I understand even less the tax becoming more and more punitive as the transaction amount gets bigger.
Surely, a much better way would be for the buyers and sellers of all properties to pay 0.5% of the transaction price each. It’s nice and affordable, so people are less likely to try and avoid it, and spread across every transaction that takes place you would think it would raise an amount similar to what it raised now.
The 3% surcharge for investors is simply ludicrous. How can you say we’re in the middle of a housing crisis, and penalise the very people who solve it?
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