Rishi set to extend stamp duty holiday
THE Chancellor is poised to extend the stamp duty holiday until summer in next week’s Budget, it emerged yesterday.
Rishi Sunak’s suspension of the levy for house purchases on properties worth up to £500,000 was due to expire at the end of the month.
But reports fromWhitehall suggest he will now extend the measure for a further three months.
This will be in line with other support for the economy due to be unveiled in his keynote financial address.
Experts forecast that around 300,000 sales could escape the charge thanks to the extension.
Treasury officials refused to comment on reports of the change yesterday.
The Prime Minister’s spokesman said:
“We are not going to be commenting on what may or may not be in the Chancellor’s Budget next week.”
Julian Jessop, from the Institute of Economic Affairs think tank, urged the Chancellor to go further by scrapping stamp duty altogether.
He said: “Any extension to the stamp duty holiday would be welcome, but the Chancellor should go further and look at ways to scrap the tax altogether.
“Most economists agree that stamp duty is one of the worst taxes. It acts as a major deterrent for those wishing to downsize or move to more suitable housing.
“It also makes no sense that the tax paid on a property depends on how often it changes hands. It is high time for a fundamental review of how we tax property, with the aim of simplifying the system and allowing local authorities to keep a higher proportion of revenues raised in their area.”
Leading figures in the property sector supported the idea of extending the stamp duty holiday.
Iain McKenzie, of the Guild of Property Professionals, said: “Reports the Chancellor could extend the stamp duty holiday until June would be great news for buyers, sellers and the market as a whole.
“Hundreds of thousands of transactions have been caught up in the logjam caused by the rapidly approaching deadline and many face being penalised through no fault of their own.
“While it would be positive to see an extension, an abrupt end to the stamp duty holiday, whenever it happens, could cause harm to the economy and disrupt the market.A phasing out of the scheme would ensure that consumers still waiting to complete aren’t hit in the wallet and would make more sense.”
And Tim Bannister, from Rightmove, said: “The huge logjam will mean a new sale being agreed is still likely to take over four months on average to complete, so really an extension for a few months would be an indication that it’s to help those already trying to get their purchases through.”