Homeowners pay £60m more stamp duty since Budget

The research reveals in the nine months following the rise in the exemption threshold in April 2005 from £60,000 to £120,000, British homeowners have collectively paid £2.25bn in stamp duty - £57.2m more than in the last nine months of the old regime. The rise is despite a fall in house sales over the two periods from 787,730 to 737,134. British homeowners are now paying an average of £3,459 in stamp duty per property purchased compared with £3,184 before the change – a 9% increase. Portman says the increase, while not yet confirmed by the government, is hardly surprising since the aver...