Building societies back ‘fairer’ stamp duty
The Chancellors announcement of reform to stamp duty will create a fairer system, the Building Societies Association (BSA) has said.
George Osborne told the Commons that from midnight tonight, stamp duty will be cut for 98% of those buying a property.
That means anyone buying a house that costs less than £937,500 will pay less stamp duty, or the same.
Paul Broadhead, Head of Mortgage Policy at the BSA said:
"This is the year that the Chancellor has pulled a real rabbit out of the hat and gone for it on Stamp Duty.
“A progressive system of taxation for home purchase is far fairer.
“It will help individuals and families buy their own home, and smooth out the crazy tax jumps buyers have suffered around the top of each band.
"We have been calling for this reform for years and the best I was hoping for was a consultation.
“So the announcement of a fully worked through proposal, effective from midnight tonight was a massive but welcomes surprise.”
However, the BSA said it was disappointed the Chancellor didn’t raise the bottom £125,000 band up at least in line with inflation.
Broadhead added: "We also welcome the news that the ISA allowance will rise in the next tax year and that ISA's will keep their tax-free status when passed on to a spouse on death. All in all we've seen some very positive moves for savers and borrowers today."
