SDLT ‘biggest barrier to homeownership’ and should be scrapped – agents
Latest research shows estate agents back Rachel Reeves’ Stamp Duty shake-up but want its abolition without a replacement tax.
The majority of estate agents support Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ plans to overhaul property taxation by scrapping Stamp Duty, says GetAgent boss Colby Short (pictured).
In research carried out by the estate agent comparison site, 44% of estate agents argue that the new levy should be focused only on higher-value homes, while 79% favour abolishing SDLT outright without introducing a replacement.
And 66% either strongly or somewhat support the notion of potentially replacing SDLT with a seller-side levy, compared with just 13% who oppose it.
significant impact
Almost all respondents (92%) believe that removing the upfront cost of Stamp Duty for buyers would encourage more people to enter the market, with nearly half of those (47%) believing it would have a significant impact. This reflects a widespread view that reform could reinvigorate buyer demand by removing one of the biggest barriers to homeownership.
The research, though, found opinion is more divided on the design of any replacement tax. The proposed threshold for the new levy is homes valued above £500,000. Nearly half of agents (49%) said this was about right, but 44% argued it should be set higher to avoid penalising mainstream sellers.
There is also a strong appetite for more radical reform. Almost four in five agents (79%) said SDLT should be abolished without replacement, while just 15% favoured replacing it with a different property tax and only 10% supported retaining it in its current form.
Stamp Duty has long been one of the biggest barriers to homeownership and removing upfront costs for buyers would undoubtedly stimulate demand.”
In addition, agents expressed concern about unintended consequences. If a seller levy were introduced, 96% expect many homeowners to increase their asking price to offset the cost, potentially limiting the benefits of the reform. Despite this, 71% believe the overall impact would be positive, with just 14% predicting it would harm the market.
Short says: “Stamp Duty has long been one of the biggest barriers to homeownership and removing upfront costs for buyers would undoubtedly stimulate demand.
But adds: “Our research shows scepticism about simply shifting the burden onto sellers and one potential path forward would be allowing buyers to spread this hefty upfront cost over a number of years post-purchase.”
SDLT is out pf touch and it hurts lower paid people working people the hardest setting a threshold 500k then a new graduated tax for those over the threshold will mean most people will be able to purchase a home without sdlt and those with the broadest shoulders will pay the tax they can afford. And the government will still raise as much revenue
Most countries have a 10% property purchase tax but you can negotiate who pays it. And non resident citizens pay more so foreign buyers should pay 20% with from the first £1. We have to make the system work for lower paid young peo0le and working British families so having a 500k starting point would help most of the country.
It is utterly ridiculous to consider that this government will overhaul SDLT with a tax that is better. The only change will mean increasing tax income which naturally means it will be bad for the market. Anyone who has answered that SDLT should be abolished and not replaced is living in a dream world. I would love income tax and NI to be abolished and not replaced but it’s ridiculous to think that a left wing government that has a debt of £2,700,000,000,000 with annual interest payments of £107,000,000,000 will do anything other than raise taxes. Leave stamp duty alone! Stop making so much noise about it or you’ll regret it when they change it. Every time ‘the people’ demand a tax is abolished, it’s just replaced with another tax that generates more income! Rates to Council tax for example. We should be focussing on why the government doesn’t cut its costs rather than raise taxes.
The tax needs a review, but, removing it completely will just allow sellers to increase selling price.
Best move would be the same rate, say, 1%, across the board for all buyers at all prices. That way, ftb buying at £100,000 would pay the same rate as an investment buyer at £200,000 or a family buying at £750,000. Easy to calculate and a focus to budget for.