Would a £250,000 stamp duty threshold help?
The Council of Mortgage Lenders said that if an across the board £250,000 starting threshold for stamp duty existed, around 92% of first-time buyers and 69% of home movers in 2009 would have been exempt from paying. However, these figures do not represent the true burden of stamp duty on those in areas where house price inflation has spiralled and made buying a family home hardest. Michael White, property partner at City law firm Dawsons LLP said: ‘Ideally, the Government should scrap stamp duty altogether, but, at the very least, it should be reformed. ‘The creation of a system based on regional variation in house prices would allow higher stamp duty thresholds in areas where house prices are higher.
