Stamp duty

[MarmiteMania]

Looking to move. Yesterday we would have paid 5%- now it's 12% as we live in London. Is this actually going to do anything for the market here where most homes fall into this catagory?

[Stars66]

I haven't read about this story yet, but funnily enough knew that if it came from the Tories, it was never going to be as positive as they want it to appear!

[ARightOldPickle]

As always there are winners and losers - DD is due to complete on her first house tomorrow and will be almost £5000 better off!
All the better as they weren't expecting it at all. She's already spent it (in her head) while sensible son in law wants to keep it in the bank as a buffer

[MarmiteMania]

I have no problem with paying tax in both theory and practise, but it just seems that if you work like mad and fall into the highest tax bracket you pay a whopping income tax, then taxed AGAIN on the same via inheritance after you've died of exhaustion! And now this?

[MirandaWest]

Overall if your house is worth up to something like about £935k you will be better off under the new scheme. The individual bands have higher rates but you now aren't taxed that amount on the full value, as you were before.

I found a table showing example amounts yesterday - will try and find it again.

[MirandaWest]

Ah have just realised that if you are being charged 12% on the additional band that the house is worth £1.5 million or more. Whilst I accept that there will be houses in London worth this much, it is probably a small percentage of houses. Not much comfort for you though I realise.

[MirandaWest]

This is the chart showing the effective rates for different amounts.

[Sleepwhenidie]

It's true, most people will be better off, 12% doesn't kick in until you are buying at around £1.6m iirc....I do think the lack of notice is extremely harsh for those like you Marmite . As someone who would be in the same position as you if we were to move, I feel your pain but it does smack a little of complaining that your diamond shoes are too tight . The 'rich' do need to pay more tax and the top of the property market in London needs cooling (including putting in place discincentives for foreign investors). This, IMO is infinitely preferable and more workable than the mansion tax. Brace yourself though because if Labour get in next year then they will keep this change AND add a mansion tax...then I will be complaining with you!

[Greengrow]

As ever all Governments by these things send out a signal that there is no point in working hard and doing well as 75% of the population will just be jealous of you and the state will confiscate your money one way or another. Might as well lie back, do nothing and eat lotuses.

[MarmiteMania]

Such a large percentage of homes in London fall into this category and I'm talking two bed flats not castles. A mansion tax in addition would safely see us out the country, along with a few others i suspect

[MarmiteMania]

Greengrow I'm in the mood to agree with you this evening, how mad is it to take away people's incentive to try and be successful? Surely there should be more of a balance? We didn't win the lottery nothing to be jealous of my dh works bloody hard, happy to pay more in taxes but there comes a point where it just isn't worthwhile

[BackforGood]

mmmm. Thing being, a whole heap of people work extremely hard, but for most of us that doesn't mean being in a position to be buying a home costing £1.6million.
I like SleepwhenIdie's tale of the diamond shoes, tbh.

[BackforGood]

Just looked at the link (thanks MirandaWest) which shows that people buying a house at the average house price in London, will be £4500 better off tomorrow from yesterday, so that strikes me that "most" homes in London are not going to make their purchasers worse off.

Obviously, we all feel aggrieved when we have to pay more, but, if you withdraw from emotion and look at the facts, it looks fairer to me.

[BabsUnited]

Marmite unless the house you want to but costs more than £937k or thereabouts you will NOT be worse off. Read beyond the headlines. It's a sliding scale. There's a calculator on hmrc website

[radiobedhead]

All this talk of 'working hard' is bloody nonsense.

Plenty of people work hard and are still in poverty

Plenty of people are successful in their chosen field and will never afford a home in London, let alone one they own

If you are buying a property for that much money you are very rich

Sorry it's not much notice but I believe it's much fairer all round now

[radiobedhead]

And if it's not worthwhile for you and you want to leave the country, then do.

Fed up of this 'we'll hold you ransom' stuff.

I will drive you to the airport OP

[TeacupDrama]

Only 2% of houses cost more than 937,000 the figure when you are paying more than before, also 937,000 is still way way more than the average London house price, it is only fair that richest 1-2% of people pay more tax. Anyone that can afford a house around £1million is very wealthy

[Greengrow]

How do you define it as wealthy thought. I had a £1.3m mortgage and no savings. Why do people class that as wealthy? Wealthy suggests you've gold rings and expensive cars and shares rather than just one heavily mortgaged London house.

[telsa]

I am truly sick of the working hard line. Most of us do. And we do not live in million plus houses. Jeez.

[Greengrow]

Probably not as hard as people who earn a lot. Most high earners do work a lot harder than those who don't. I don't think I've found anyone on mumsnet yet who has been prepared to go back to full time working having used only 2 weeks of annual leave for their babies (except for me). There is definitely a correlation between hours put in and what you earn.

Anyway I shall die in this house in about 40 years' time so stamp duty does not in that sense matter exceptr that stamp duty ensures people like I am will never maker the home available to anyone else until death. It is a tax on job movement, enterprise and the like - a silly tax. I would ike it abolished and IHT and a merger of tax/NI to 33.3% flat tax. As most people in work pay 32% tax and NI that would not hugely affect them and would be great for the country.

[FrontForward]

There are people working hard who don't get a holiday, don't own a car, don't go out ever, make do and mend their clothes, think carefully buying food.

You can be very hard working and really struggle to live. Lots do, so I struggle to sympathise with you OP however I do recognise that the timing of this is really irritating

[radiobedhead]

Let's put inheritance tax at 100%. If 'working hard' makes you rich then why do you want your kids/whoever to get something for nothing? They just need to put in the hours don't they!

[radiobedhead]

Hello X btw!

[Trills]

Are you sure you understand it right?

I am very pleased with the changes - it makes much more sense for it to be incremental like income tax - this stops the problems of houses near a boundary being unsellable at that price.

[Viviennemary]

If you can afford a million or over for a house then you can afford the tax. No sympathy whatsoever. Stay where you are or buy a cheaper house.

[MarmiteMania]

RadioBedHead if you drive all the higher earners to the airport, does that mean you're happy to pay higher taxes to make up the shortfall when they're gone?

Obviously it's a given that lower earners work just as hard. But there's a balance between making people pay a fair share of their earnings and taking away any reason to earn it.