stamp duty
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Features
Manifestos, markets and mansions
Election fever is here. The countdown has begun. Jeremy Leaf reviews pre-manifesto statements to see what could happen on 7th May.
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Housing Market
Scottish Government revises property tax after UK stamp duty changes
Deputy First Minister John Swinney has announced a series of changes to the Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT) – which will replace stamp duty for homebuyers in Scotland – following Chancellor George Osborne’s amends to stamp duty in his Autumn Statement in December. Among the headline amendments, is the fact that homes in Scotland worth up to £145,000 will not now attract any tax, up from the previously proposed £135,000. For sales between £145,000 and £250,000, a tax rate of 2 per cent will be applied, with the introduction of a new rate of 5 per cent between £250,000 and £325,000. Mr Swinney had previously planned a tax rate of 10 per cent on residential properties sold for between £250,000 and £1 million – prompting concerns that those acquiring family homes could be hit. However, the 10 per cent rate will be applied to properties valued between £325,000 and £750,000. The top rate of 12 per cent – which was previously going to apply to residential properties worth in excess of £1 million – will now take effect from £750,000. The Deputy First Minister defended the Scottish national Party’s (SNP) decision to change the taxes following the Chancellor’s surprise…
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Latest property news
Stamp Duty Reform
Every buyer, seller and estate agent in the land would have liked to see Stamp Duty abolished but we all knew that wouldn’t happen. However, George Osborne, The Chancellor of the Exchequer, dealt a masterstroke to the Opposition party with his dramatic – and immediate – Stamp Duty reform. Thousands of pounds saved in Stamp Duty payments – for 98 per cent of all homebuyers – will give potential buyers a real impetus to move. It’s another way of clobbering the rich to butter up Middle England voters.” This was a carefully constructed bomb among a whole salvo of missiles aimed at the Labour Party’s election campaign. It will certainly catch the votes of most estate agents when it comes to the crunch next May. Vote-catching aside, this was a brave – and clever – way of reforming tax which removes the need for a Mansion Tax, while the wealthy (those able to afford more than £937,000 for a home) can console themselves that it is a one-off payment on purchase, rather than an additional annual tax. Changes in a nutshell Old regime: Stamp Duty applies to all properties over £125,000. It was calculated in bands and even if the…
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Uncategorised
Chancellor’s reforms may thaw the chilly housing market
Designs on Property tracks and summarises the monthly property indices. Kate Faulkner says, “The question is, will the great news on Stamp Duty deliver more sellers?”
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Guest Blogs
Property taxes must be fair!
I’m writing this article as the Scottish Parliament is about to announce radical changes to Stamp Duty which will come into effect from 1st April 2015. What is proposed is a progressive system rather than the crude system that operates now under which an increase of just £1 in the sale price can trigger an increase in the amount of Stamp Duty due of up to £40,000. I really hope that the Scottish review will cause the UK Parliament to look again at this grossly unfair tax. The current system is completely illogical and perverse and the consequence is that virtually no sales are agreed at prices that slightly exceed the break points of £125,000, £250,000, £500,000, £1 million and £2 million. Why should a buyer of a property at £250,001 pay £5,000 more tax than someone who buys the identical house next door for £250,000? A millionaire in a 10-bed mansion in northern England will pay nowt! The unfairness of the tax causes enormous resentment and distorts the housing market because people will inevitably reduce their offer to the nearest tax threshold. In years gone by, buyers and sellers could find ways around the problem by selling the fixtures…
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