Conservative party leadership contender, Boris Johnson, has shown interest in switching stamp duty liability so sellers, rather than buyers, are responsible for paying the tax.
It was an idea put forward to him by the Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT) and comes a year after Johnson described stamp duty as ‘absurdly high’.
Just last month Johnson also suggested he would consider scrapping stamp duty for homes worth £500,000 or less.
Moving up the ladder
Potential homebuyers, Tony Richardson, 43, and his partner Caroline Danks, 36, (pictured) have been considering buying a bigger house for some time.
The couple, who have two children and live in a three-bedroom terraced house in Plymouth, Devon, admitted one of the factors which had forced them to delay the move was their concern over stamp duty.
Tony said the huge upfront costs associated with buying a house meant they would have to fork out the hefty stamp duty charge on top of legal fees and mortgage arrangement fees.
Tony said: “That’s why the AAT recommendation to switch Stamp Duty liability is so attractive – it will mean we pay less as we’d only have to pay it on the house we are selling not on the one we are buying.
“I hope the new Prime Minister, whoever he is, seriously looks at this because it will make a real difference to people like us.”
Savings to the tax payer
One of the arguments against the stamp duty switch is that it would not benefit people who were, for example, downsizing.
However, the AAT thinks the switch would save the taxpayer £700 million a year by rendering first-time buyers relief redundant.
And it said it would also protect the £9 billion of revenue Stamp Duty generates because it would still be paid in full, just by different people.
Phil Hall, AAT head of public policy and public affairs, said: “AAT is naturally pleased that Boris has agreed to look at our long-standing proposal to switch Stamp Duty liability from the buyer to the seller.”
He added: “It’s much more progressive too, as it will be paid on the lower priced property being sold rather than the higher priced property being bought.”
