2
Sep
Darling announces stamp duty suspension
Stamp duty on homes worth less than £175,000 is to be
suspended for a year, chancellor of the exchequer Alistair Darling
has said.
With effect from tomorrow the charge will only be levied on homes
above this figure, changing from the current £125,000 at which
the lowest band of tax is applicable.
The news comes after weeks of speculation about the government's
plans to help the housing market, following an admission from Mr
Darling that he was considering various measures and confirmation
by housing minister Caroline Flint in a BBC Newsnight interview
that stamp duty could be involved in this, although she insisted no
decision would be made before the pre-budget statement in
November.
Such a move may boost the housing market in the short term with
buyers no longer waiting until November for news on the charge
before making purchases.
Various calls have been made for the purchase tax to be suspended,
thresholds altered or an incremental levying system put in place
over the past year.
Earlier this summer the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors
called for an incremental system to be introduced to avoid
penalising those buying a home for an amount just above any of the
banding thresholds.
