Abolition of Stamp Duty?

[IAmMyBelovedsAndMyBelovedIsMine]

Hello Mumsnetters,

So what do we think of the Tories' plan to abolish stamp duty?

I’d love to see something that doesn’t hinder people who have a decent job / income but due to their background or current situation are stuck in costly rental (for example) and can’t save for a deposit or SD. Feels grossly unfair that we have people on good jobs but can’t buy property simply because they haven’t inherited a cash chunk for example. I personally only got on the property ladder as (1) I grew up near London so could stay at my parents post uni whilst commuting into London and save on rental costs for a deposit /SD instead and (2) I was lucky enough to be given a small cash pot when I turned 21 to use for a deposit / SD
Feels unfair at the moment the cash outlay required

Except so much 'wealth' is being generated by increase in house values, not by creating it by making something or earning it by providing a service. It is a fallacy, because at the end of the day the only winners are the banks who persuade us that two people need to sign up to 30 years+ of payments to them - if house prices were lower we could all have a better standard of living and better lifestyle.
Stamp Duty (or Land and Building Tax) is a progressive tax, and reflects property values. IMO we need more progressive taxes. I say that as someone who is paying £2k per annum more in income tax in Scotland compared to living in England and is about to pay £3k more in Land and Building Tax than if I was subject to Stamp Duty in England...

I do wonder if there is something around a simple calculation of Council Tax band and increase in valuation that could apply instead of just valuation at some random point in time.

And while I prefer the Scottish system (currently selling and buying again up here), it is not perfect....but it can reduce gazumping and other nasty behaviour.

Capital gains tax on property would be ok if, and only if, indexation was applied. This used to be the case with CG but that was removed so most apparent ‘gain’ is merely inflation.

In a sane world the value of a house would depreciate. Obviously you can spend money on improvements and fixing it but the structure tends to degrade as it ages. Land is another matter of course.

Fabulous.

They won’t see power for a decade. It’s all meaningless bollocks.

I also don’t think Labour will change anything this term. Which is annoying as stamp duty is the one tax I don’t really understand.

Important point in your first sentence.
property, for most of us, shouldn’t be seen as an ‘investment’ more than a car is. Putting our money into the supposed value of a house rather than truly investing in companies which can generate profits, exports, pay taxes impoverishes our country.

They are doing it to put pressure on Labour.

The market is already screwed through rampant speculation of what is going to happen in the Autumn budget. All this adds to the mix and a dysfunctional housing market doesn't help Labours cause.

Labour are under pressure because they need to raise taxes when they said they wouldn't, and the Tories are trying to cement their appearance as the party of low taxation.

absolutely!

with rumours of losing PRR if we move downsizing will become a thing of the past. It will be one house purchase and die

"for most of us"

Seems like you think there should be two kinds of classes. Those that should be allowed to see property as an investment and those that aren't.

I'm for it. The housing market has basically stopped near me so looking to encourage people to buy and sell would have a positive impact. Both societally and also on the amount of money being spent in the real economy (moving companies, builders, furniture shops, solicitors).

Seemingly less tax take for the government though.

However with house sales so low (possibly falling?) the impact may be net positive.

They will replace it with something that gets them more money.

I understand the need for the government to generate money, especially now, but I hate stamp duty. My husband had an affair and left me and therefore I have had to buy a new house out of my share of our family home. I didn’t want to move, and divorce is financially crippling enough without an additional 5 figure tax bill.

I absolutely hate stamp duty. I don’t think it’s realistic to abolish it as the country needs the money, but it can fuck right off.

I agree.
But the story of the last few days of this proposal to cancel stamp duty has been 'saves us all money, house prices can rise now, we all feel richer'.

When in fact a rise in house prices continues to impoverish us all, reduces the government tax take to spend back on services, and favours the wealthy above those who need it most. Typical Tory policy to benefit themselves and their mates...

It’s a huge benefit to those who want to buy though and given the amount of taxpayers money spent on rent it would be great if more bought and less rented.

I think it shouldn’t be so ridiculously expensive in the first place and it was awful that Labour increased it in the first place

ooh I think the house prices will inflate

I think a small amount is fair enough but not 40K which is what we would have to pay around the area I live in

if it makes it cheaper to buy a house house prices will rise and the rich and banks get richer whilst the county struggles to pay for life saving surgeries and SEN support workers

Agree

To Help pay for it an increase on the current stamp % on second properties is reasonable

Yes more reasonable

ours is a home and we have to pay so much to buy another property. Property market is slow because of the uncertainty

Yes.
I wish banks could be forced to get mortgages back to sensible multiples of income.

If this (reducing lending multiples) was done in conjunction with removing SDLT, the housing market may have a chance of becoming healthier over time. Unfortunately, Labour have just done the exact opposite wrt lending multiples, pressuring the FCA to reduce regulations and increase multiples. I agree that removing SDLT favours the rich most, ie typical Tory voters, but it's also true that SDLT is a stupid tax as it discourages moving, which reduces economic transactions and right sizing so I don't like it in principle. If they introduced a LVT, that would balance things and make them fairer.
It may be that, after all the talk about changes in tax within the housing market, Labour end up making no changes at all. Tory sound bites have little relevance at the moment as the Tories are not in power, actually nowhere near being in power.

The only way the conservatives will get into power is in a coalition, and I can only see that currently with Reform.

So it could happen if they form the next government but it’s still four years away.

But won’t just push up house prices ?

Indeed a different stamp duty is the least of our worries if Reform gets any power. We really would see economy heading south....

House prices would go up.

Anything that is designed to save buyers money creates room for the headline price to increase. You've "saved" £10k on stamp duty. That 10k can be put on the price.
And, even worse is the fear factor... people will rush to buy at the inflated price, before the tories get voted out and some form of purchase tax gets reintroduced.

The people who will benefit most from this policy are the very richest. Meanwhile, the poorest won't benefit at all. So it is a very typical Tory policy in that sense, based on core Tory values.

My question is really about what exactly they are planning to sacrifice in order to pay for this very expensive tax break.

I think on Second properties they’ll
increase Stamp %s
increase CTax
increase cgtax in line with income tax ( or higher even )
remove PRR if a home ‘becomes’ a second property