23 February 2021
The Centre for Policy Studies (CPS) has published a report which notes that the stamp duty holiday has increased sales figures by almost 140%
Lexis®Library update: The report examines the effects of the measure introduced by the Chancellor in response to the coronavirus (COVID–19) pandemic and highlights that the stamp duty holiday enabled 87% of people to purchase a primary home and escape ‘the deeply unpopular tax’.
Between Q2 and Q3, the number of new builds started rose by 134% and the number of new builds that were completed rose by 164%. The CPS has called on the government to ‘either permanently increase the threshold on primary residences to £500,000 or abolish the tax outright’.
Between Q2 and Q3, the number of new builds started rose by 134% and the number of new builds that were completed rose by 164%. The CPS has called on the government to ‘either permanently increase the threshold on primary residences to £500,000 or abolish the tax outright’.
Author of the report and CPS Data Analyst, Jethro Elsden, said: ‘Stamp duty may well be the worst tax on the UK’s statute books. It places a significant burden onto prospective buyers and creates huge distortions in the UK housing market. It damages the economy, and leaves people stuck in the wrong homes and reduces the number of new builds brought to market each year, which makes the housing crisis harder to solve.’
This content was first published by LNB News / Lexis®Library, a LexisNexis® company, on 22 February 2021 and is published with permission. Further information can be found at: www.lexisnexis.co.uk
The CPS’s full report can be viewed here.
