Five in six pay stamp duty by Finance News Bulletin

Published: 23/05/07

Five out of six homebuyers are forced to pay a massive bill for stamp duty when they purchase a possessions, research reveals todayA typical buyer has to split out about £2,220 before meeting any of the other expenses involved in the expensive processChancellor Gordon Brown has greater than before the rate at which stamp duty is charged four times, creation it a extremely lucrative tax for Labour since the party came to power in 1997Due to Mr chocolate's changes to the system, 71% paid it in 2004/05 before the lower doorsill was finally increased from £60,000 to £120,000 in March 2005 next strong criticism

Although the number of buyers paying stamp duty fell to 55% in 2005/06, the duty still raked in £46bnAnd information from property website Rightmove, which published the research, show that the increase in the lower doorsill is fast becoming irrelevant because house prices are increasing so quicklyExperts said stamp duty - which most homebuyers used to be safe from paying - is now 'a tax on the ample, not just the rich few'

It comes as house prices continue to go up well ahead of inflation The average asking price for a house in England and Wales jumped by 124% over the last year to a record £222,333, and is up almost £3,400 in the last monthIn the London borough of Kensington and Chelsea, prices have jumped 55% to an average of more than £1m for the first time

Rightmove's investigate shows how stamp duty is hitting additional and additional homebuyers as prices keep on risingBefore Mr Brown became Chancellor, trample duty was charged at 1% on all properties over £60,000 It is now emotional at 1% on homes between £125,000 and £250,000, 3% between £250,001 and £500,000 and 4% over £500,001Rightmove examined the prices of almost 157,000 properties advertised for sale by land agents over the last month, roughly 75% of the marketplace

Only 17% were available for less than £125,000, the level at which stamp responsibility begins to be chargedThis means nearly five out of six homebuyers will have to pay stamp responsibility The Chancellor's stamp responsibility trap has caught 26m homes in the past nine years, according to Halifax, Britain's main mortgage lender

Nearly one in five houses and flats in England is now worth at least £250,000, the height above which the responsibility is charged at three%Miles Shipside, commercial director of Rightmove, said: 'This is obvious evidence that stamp duty is a tax on the ample, not just the affluent few 'Just 2% of London's property store falls below the starting band of £125,000'Figures from the committee of Mortgage Lenders make known that the majority of homebuyers are now paying stamp responsibility

They show that 55% of first-time buyers and 86% of home-movers who took out a mortgage salaried the tax in SeptemberStamp duty is likely to catch even more populace over the next year, according to predictions for the property marketLondon and the South-East leaving up 15% The Treasury insists the Chancellor has tried to help young people keep away from stamp duty by increasing the nil-rate group from £60,000 to £125,000

A coffers spokesman said: 'Five out of six homebuyers either disburse stamp duty at one%, or disburse no duty at all'But there is now no region in England and Wales where the standard asking price is less than £155,000, which would incur a stamp responsibility bill of £1,550The two higher thresholds, currently £250,000 and £500,000, have not been distorted for six years Halifax says they would be £650,000 and £1

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