Andy Burnham could be about to scrap a huge tax hitting millions | Politics | News
However, he has criticized stamp duty in the past; this was a tax paid on the purchase of property or land above a certain threshold, which in England and Northern Ireland was £125,000 or £300,000 for first-time buyers. Mr Burnham suggested Land Value Tax (LVT), an annual payment based on the value of a site, would be a “more efficient form of taxation”.
He has previously described LVT as a way to “make sure that land is used for good, productive purposes, and to make sure that if people sit on it and hoard it, it gets taxed and the money can come back and be redistributed.”
While past approval is no guarantee Mr Burnham will enact changes in government, abolishing stamp duty could be a popular move.
Stuart Adam of the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) told the BBC: “More or less any property tax or local tax will be better than stamp duty.
“Stamp duty deters people from buying and selling… [Scrapping it] “It will lead to less pressure on the housing market, reducing the need to build more buildings.”
Lucian Cook, head of housing research at Savills, warned Mr Burnham would make significant changes without election powers.
“This is a huge change with clear winners and losers,” he said. “It will be difficult to succeed in the rest of this Parliament.
“You want any new tax system you introduce to be revenue neutral, there is little doubt about that. [stamp duty] “It suppresses transaction efficiency, but it’s about balancing that with the alternative.”
Property website Rightmove is among industry voices calling for the removal of stamp duty for first-time buyers, at least on new-build and resale properties.
Alex Slater, new homes manager at Rightmove, said: “First-time buyers underpin the entire housing market, but affordability and getting that first step onto the ladder is becoming increasingly difficult.
“We need a range of further, faster and working together reforms, from stamp duty changes to greater investment in affordable housing, to give this group a better chance of getting on the ladder and moving the market.”
The Express has contacted Andy Burnham for comment.
