Stamp duty change needed

The National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) wants changes to be made which it believes will benefit people taking out first-time buyer mortgages.

According to the organisation, Alistair Darling has a big opportunity to help new buyers in the UK by changing the current system for stamp duty.

Mr Darling is being put under pressure to raise the stamp duty threshold to £200,000, with a scale introduced so that properties of different values pay different levels of tax.

It means that a one per cent tax would be levied against property worth between £200,001 and £300,000.

However, for a property worth £280,000 for example, the first £200,000 would be tax free, while the final £80,000 would be taxed at one per cent.

"The government needs to be aware that with inflation rising consumers need a helping hand. We would like to see a scale of stamp duty that reflects the house price inflation in recent years," said Stewart Lilly, NAEA president.

"We believe that together with stamp duty reform, reduction in buy-to-let capital gains tax and a greater emphasis on real green policies that work the government can make a big difference to the housing market," he continued.

Mr Darling is due to reveal his first Budget on March 12th.

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