12
Mar
AMI calls for stamp duty axing
Stamp duty should be abolished on all residential property, the
Association of Mortgage Intermediaries (AMI) has said.
AMI director Robert Sinclair called for chancellor Alistair Darling
to do away with the tax in the Budget next month as a way of
stimulating the housing market and aiding first-time buyers.
He added: "In the longer term AMI proposes providing targeted
tax-free savings plans in order to help first-time buyers obtain
the capital required for a lender deposit."
Mr Sinclair also suggested the government should "re-invent"
mortgage indemnity guarantees (MIGs) to enable lenders to offer
more home loans as well as doing so at higher loan-to-value
levels.
Recently, the finance director of Team Association, Phil Irving,
wrote to Mr Darling and housing minister Margaret Beckett to put
the case for the re-introduction of MIGs, suggesting that this
would provide protection against losses for lenders and thus tackle
their current "aversion" to risk.
