CML calls for reform of stamp duty

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CML calls for reform of stamp duty

Tue 4th Mar 2008

The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has called for a reform of stamp duty, in order to promote buyer confidence in a struggling housing market and ensure that first-time buyers are not impeded by taxation.

According to recent research from Halifax, homebuyers in 29 per cent of local authorities have been left with stamp duty bills equivalent to more than 20 per cent of average annual gross earnings, a 15 per cent rise from five years ago.

It found that if the higher stamp duty threshold had been increased in line with house price inflation since 1997, the £250,000 band limit would be raised to £720,000, while the £500,000 limit would be raised to £1,440,000.

The CML has also calls for better support for homeowners in financial difficulty, through the income support for mortgage interest scheme (ISMI), which had its funding "drastically scaled back" by the last Conservative government in 1995.

It suggests that to offset the costs, ISMI payments could be made a second charge on the property.

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