£1Billion missing revenue from Stamp Duty

More negative news in UK property and this time a £1,000,000,000 missing pot of cash thanks to the Governments handling of Stamp Duty. Not so much in favour has been the hiked up tax imposed on high end value property which has seen a fair slow down in this section of the market, a whooping 10% has seemed to have kept the buyers away:

£0 – £125,000 – 0% Stamp Duty

£125,001 – £250,000 – 2% Stamp Duty

£250,001 – £925,000 – 5% Stamp Duty

£925,001 – £1,500,000 – 10% Stamp Duty

Of course, many will argue that those at the top end of the property market can certainly afford to pay out such high amounts of tax and many will have made quite a packet from recent years of house price inflation anyway, though this thought process has not worked that well for the government and this ten figure number is missing from the Treasury due to George Osbourne’s stamp duty hikes of four years ago.

I agree with the higher tax that was posed on buy to let property, a 3 per cent surcharge on second homes to discourage landlords, though in all honesty this could be extended further and if scaled, ie this tax amount raises as your portfolio increases, we would have a very simple solution in solving much of the housing crisis and the over valued property across the country than we have – a flood of property on to the market held by investors / landlords would see movement in property value, ie down, and increased people being able to get on to the property ladder. Yes for sure there are many people that do not want to own a property and may still struggle to afford a home of their own so landlords (because council property has suffered in recent years) are still needed.

Christopher Walkey

Founder of Estate Agent Networking. Internationally invited speaker on how to build online target audiences using Social Media. Writes about UK property prices, housing, politics and affordable homes.

You May Also Enjoy

Breaking News

NPPF review is a chance to fix planning, build homes, restore wildlife and help SMEs

The latest National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) unveils an ambitious package of reforms designed to speed up the planning process and make smaller sites more viable. This includes trimming environmental regulations and cutting Building Safety Levy on smaller sites, as well as providing more funding to local authorities to process planning applications faster, whilst taking…
Read More
Letting Agent Talk

Five key tax mistakes made by landlords

By Allison Thompson, National Lettings Managing Director, Leaders Landlord tax is a hugely complicated area, so if you are investing in buy-to-let or renting out any property you own, it’s well worth consulting a specialist property tax adviser. They can help ensure you: a. Own, let, take income and realise gains from your investment in…
Read More
Breaking News

House prices post third consecutive quarter of growth

The latest Property Market Index Review by London lettings and estate agent, Benham and Reeves, has revealed that the property market continued to demonstrate positive momentum during the third quarter of this year, with house prices increasing for a third consecutive time, although the rate of growth seen did slow considerably when compared to the…
Read More
Breaking News

Estate agent predicts ‘Boxing Day Bonanza’ as property market reignites

A leading estate agent is forecasting a “Boxing Day Bonanza” for home movers. Brendan Kay, Managing Director of Parkers Properties in West Oxfordshire, says that the “market is coiling and about to spring” after months of inertia driven by Budget uncertainty. Brendan, who has offices in Witney and Eynsham, looks after clients in some of…
Read More
Estate Agents should not all look the same
Breaking News

Agent numbers set to grow by 4% in 2026

The latest research from The Property DriveBuy reveals that the number of estate agency businesses in the UK could be set to increase by over 4% in 2026, marking another year of solid expansion for the sector and further increasing the level of market competition. Property DriveBuy analysed available Office for National Statistics data (2017-2025)…
Read More
Breaking News

Rental supply climbs 15% despite landlord uncertainty

The latest research from Dwelly has found that, despite what has been an incredibly uncertain year for landlords – marked by political back and forth over the Renters’ Rights Act, its eventual approval, and the additional 2% tax hit delivered in last week’s Autumn Budget – there are currently 15% more rental homes available to…
Read More