Stamp duty threatens to pervert Help to Buy effect - CML

In its latest News & Views, the lenders’ body argued that, as the housing market recovers, the government is increasingly benefiting from stamp duty revenue. It questioned why the government allows first-time buyers to be hit by the tax while at the same time introducing schemes like Help to Buy: “There is a perversity in introducing policy initiatives that seek to bridge the deposit gap for households, while at the same time exposing the same group of buyers to a material tax burden.” Although the CML welcomed Scottish and Welsh plans to reform stamp duty, it pointed out 94% of the t...