Stamp duty changes called for

The stamp duty threshold should be increased, according to Halifax.

The bank has published figures which show that stamp duty bills have increased at a much faster rate than average earnings.

Halifax believes that the threshold for the tax needs to be increased in order to help people with first-time buyer mortgages.

Figures from the bank show that the average stamp duty bill stood at seven per cent of average earnings in 2007, compared to just five per cent in 2002.

"A growing number of home buyers are paying the equivalent of more than 20 per cent of local average annual earnings in residential stamp duty. This trend is most prevalent in the south of England. But, other parts of the country are being affected as well," commented Martin Ellis, Halifax chief economist.

"The higher stamp duty thresholds have not been altered since their introduction a decade ago. We call on the government to raise all stamp duty thresholds to account for the rise in house prices over the past decade and to index for house price inflation in the future," he added.

Chancellor Alistair Darling is due to deliver his first Budget on March 12th, with a number of analysts forecasting that changes to stamp duty will be announced.

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