Scotland won’t follow Sunak’s property tax cut, says Forbes

KATE Forbes has confirmed an extended cut to stamp duty for housebuyers in England will not be matched north of the Border.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak used his Budget on Wednesday to announce continued relief for property purchases, but the Scottish Government’s Finance Secretary said the temporary reduction to Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT) – the equivalent of stamp duty in Scotland – would still end in March.

The Scottish Conservatives have called on Ms Forbes to “think again”, warning that the action will mean that “many families in Scotland will be unable to move home”.

That move is despite the Chancellor saying the Scottish Government would get an additional £1.2 billion as a result of his Budget.

But Ms Forbes said part of that cash had already been “baked in” to the spending plans she announced at the end of January in the Scottish budget.

As part of that, Ms Forbes said she had made the “big commitment” to extend business rates relief for a full year – adding Mr Sunak was only doing this for three months.

In Scotland, retail, hospitality, leisure and aviation businesses will pay no rates during 2021/22, Ms Forbes has pledged, saying this had been the “number one ask from business”.

But when asked if she would replicate extended reductions in stamp duty, she said in Scotland the changes would end, as planned, on March 31.

The Finance Secretary said: “We will stick to that original plan, that was set out clearly.

“It was intended to support the recovery of the residential property market this financial year, that has been achieved.”

She added: “The nil rate band was already lower in Scotland, and yet we have seen record high levels of transactions and house purchases, so it has achieved its purpose.

“But, ultimately, when it comes to tax policy, I have choices.

“The number one ask from business was to extend the 100 per cent relief on non-domestic rates, that’s what I have done alongside freezing council tax to help households in need so those are our choices in taxation.”

Last July, the Finance Secretary announced the threshold at which buyers must start to pay LBTT would increase from £145,000 to £250,000 – a move which she said at the time would mean 80% of buyers would not pay anything under the levy.

That was announced in the wake of a similar announcement from the UK Government.

Scottish Conservative finance spokesperson, Murdo Fraser, said: “Homebuyers in other parts of the UK are being given a very welcome helping hand during these challenging times.

“Yet the SNP have decided not to give the same support to buyers in Scotland, despite receiving over £10bn in additional pandemic funding from the UK Government.

“This is a mistake, and the SNP Finance Secretary needs to think again. The consequences of this will be that many families in Scotland will be unable to move home.

“This also risks causing stagnation in the housing market at a time when we need to focus on reviving and rebuilding Scotland’s economy.”