Improvements to the existing stamp duty regime would significantly boost the number of housing transactions across England and Wales, according to a new report.
Stamp duty adds thousands of pounds to the overall cost of moving home, especially in London and the South East where prices are far higher, while the 3% surcharge on second home purchases introduced last year, means property investors often see stamp duty on ordinary homes now run into the tens of thousands, and this is making the current housing crisis worse by causing a bottleneck in the residential property market.
Current stamp duty rates are deterring older buyers from downsizing and therefore freeing up homes for those further down the housing ladder, but the research from the London School of Economics and the VATT Institute for Economic Research, says that moving levels would increase by over a quarter if the tax was scrapped.
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