Tax ‘holiday’ on house sales in bid to boost the economy
THE Welsh Government has announced a “holiday” on the tax paid on house sales for homes worth less than £250,000 until March 31, 2021.
It is an attempt to get the property market and the wider economy moving in Wales following the coronavirus crisis.
It follows England’s decision to bring in a stamp duty holiday for all homes worth less than £500,000.
The threshold for the land transaction tax, which replaced stamp duty in
Wales in 2018, was previously set at £180,000.
Speaking at the Welsh
Government press conference yesterday,
Finance pictured,
UK Chancellor announced temporary changes to stamp duty land tax which applies only to England and Northern Ireland. That stamp duty land tax holiday up to £500,000 applies to all types of residential purchases.
“So the UK Government is putting money in the pockets of potential house buyers whether they are buying a starter home in Newcastle, expanding their buy-to-let empire in Leeds or purchasing a holiday home in Cornwall.
“No measures were announced to support those who find themselves without work or without a home at all.”
This is a significantly lower threshold compared to that announced in England when Chancellor Rishi Sunak removed Stamp Duty for all homes under £500,000.
As house values in Wales are lower than in England, the Welsh public purse would have been hit harder by a similar holiday here as a higher proportion of property sales fall under the £500,000 threshold.
Rebecca Evans said that in Wales the new threshold will not apply to the purchase of additional properties such as buy to lets or second homes in an attempt to help those most in need.
The measures will come in on July 27 to correspond with the full reopening of the housing market.