Abolition of Stamp Duty?

[IAmMyBelovedsAndMyBelovedIsMine]

Hello Mumsnetters,

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

It’s not about house prices though - it’s about the cost of a transaction.

People dont move because they don’t want the tax bill.

Would rather use the money for the house and then it puts you off moving

it should be more reasonable like it was in the 90s

cheeky of NL to take away the under 500k percentage

they don’t represent working people

I think it’s tartly unnecessary. We need lower house prices not a stamp duty abolishment..

Plus where would the savings come from ? They are desperate and know they have no chance of getting votes in for atleast another another 9 years.

Hopefully it would be funded by an annual property tax like in most parts of the US. 1% a year of your house’s value, but with stamp duty and council tax abolished, would be revenue positive and solve a lot of economic problems.

Well that was a previous thought on a thread a while ago and in the news
however
it was council tax plus a new tax based on property value

CTax goes to local council
House tax to central Government

The problem with that clearly is that a new tax based on the value of your property isn’t something you can just introduce. An completely new bill on property such as this is dependant on ability to pay it

Money and savings dont magic from nowhere.

If
However a property tax that replaces counvil tax is different. No one does that though unless we all end up paying a lot more. Especially to pay for the cost of set up

Of note rents will go up for all students across the country if the ctax is replaced with a property tax. So that’s a further decline in Uni numbers

As long as we have such a huge welfare state their will have to be so many taxes to cover it's cost. Personally I'd prefer a smaller welfare state and less tax.

Yes agree
The welfare bill needs to come down significantly
It’s growing far too fast and unsustainable

even with tax rises I think

I'm not sure a 1% property tax will work in London unless it comes with a corresponding removal of council tax. You might 'save' stamp duty but it would mean finding an extra 10000 a year on top of the mortgage and most people don't have that money liquid (normal people are taking out very long mortgages, a normal 3 bed terrace is at least 800k). I think it will just seize up the market further and drive more families out of London. It will be even worse in low wage high price areas like Cornwall.

I don't like stamp duty either, its not a terribly progressive tax, especially on primary residences. Am not sure what the answer is but with such bonkers property price disparity across the country it's also hard to see how a property tax isn't a vote loser also.

@BasilPersil agreed, a £1k+ a month property tax bill wouldn’t be unusual in London, for a pretty ordinary house by the rest of the country’s standards.

Yes but no one wants their benefits cut. Labour did try to make minor cuts, WFA and disability benefits already and there was a huge uproar. This will happen whatever they try to cut and they may not get a vote passed.

Regarding your earlier comment about declining Uni student numbers, that will continue to happen anyway, imo. I can't see the Uni sector as anything other than a declining one for various reasons. Not that they will be the only one!

I doubt Labour will suddenly impose a 1% property tax overnight. If they do decide to do this or re-band council tax to current values, rather than 1991 values, I imagine that they will make more gradual changes.

Just look at what is happening in France. The last three prime ministers appointed by Macron have tried to limit welfare entitlements and have been hammered down from the left and right wings of politics. It has and is making France ungovernable. The population are voting for more freebies and entitlement at every election, and it cannot continue. The crash will be very unpleasant.

Rescinding stamp duty will make house prices to up. Nothing good will come of it.

It's exactly the same here but the French are more vocal and much more likely to protest. Every time this government has tried to make small cuts and has increased taxes, chaos has ensued. I've said on other thread(s) that I think they will only be able to achieve spending cuts after a crisis.

I am hoping that abolition of stamp duty won’t put house prices up! I know it always does with a stamp duty holiday. I think it would encourage more people to move especially the elderly, I think the cost of moving including stamp duty puts many people off especially the older generation who have never paid it.

Yes this would be a major benefit. You can’t force people to downsize but older people in large houses would be more inclined to do it if a tax barrier was gone.

Disagree.

Why should it matter why you're selling a large asset?

and as that’s what’s happening here are we heading to a serious recession
or all out financial collapse
?!

You don’t pay Stamp on selling a property

@lljkk you may be correct. I last moved house in 1997. If I paid SDLT it was at 1%, so I would have paid £1320.00. I still love our home, and we are comfortable living in it, but I would concede that it is way more house than we need at 70. However, the current equivalent price to buy it now would be roughly £800,000. Obviously I am not unhappy with this, because it means that I can afford to move and for years I could not have afforded to move back to London, but it does mean that most younger people will struggle. We have DC, so we'd prefer that they had an easier path to homeownership. BoMaD has stumped up some cash early, and we hope we'll live another seven years.

Or anyone living in a property that’s far too big for one or two etc people Eastern
or indeed too small and they need something larger.

Remove the tax bill and people react

Do you read the newspapers? There is informed talk or comment that people selling property will bear the cost if the Treasury geeks can confabulate an argument for levying capital gains tax on principal properties. The argument is over what weighting inflation will be given. The money we have spent to keep our home up to date, modern etc which has been roughly £10,000 every other year, new windows, re-rendering, modern bathrooms, and a better kitchen, paid for out of savings and earnings. I don't disagree that a new model is needed, but I do want the investment we've made and the money spent in updating our home recognised and recorded as our investment rather than just a market change.

I’ve read that but your comment related to a conversation about stamp. Not loss of PRR

I concur re loss of PRR. We bought a run down grade 2 star building and have so far spent £200,000 in 5 years. It’s not finished yet but if the tax man tries to tax us on money we’ve spent on it We will take them to court.

They discount the cost of major works on developers tax bills
So Home owners will be worse off than developers !!

It’s a disgrace and tbh comes across as yet another Labour policy of envy

So wrong.

it’s my home not an investment. We’ve paid a mortgage on taxed income and been thrifty
like many others

I'm in NZ where there is no stamp duty. But we pay estate agents 3 or 4 percent plus marketing costs. And no they are not worth it.

I've always thought 3 or 4 percent is the transaction cost the property market can manage. I'd rather the government got the tax than an estate agent. I have lots of thoughts on their conduct. Actually, I'd rather set fire to the money than pay them.

Are you required by law to sell through an estate agent in NZ