‘Larry Elliott in the Guardian comments on data which reveals that the Treasury collected more than £6bn from stamp duty in 2011-12, a figure which is expected to double by 2017-18.
Mr Elliott says that there are two big advantages of stamp duty as far as the Treasury is concerned: firstly, it is hard to avoid, and secondly, the take goes up as house prices rise pushing properties into a higher band. He notes that at the minute there is a big jump at the £250,000 level where the levy rises from 1% to 3% – costing at least £5,000 in extra duty.
London Central Portfolio has recommended that the Treasury ups this threshold to stop so many people falling in to the extra band. Mr Elliott concludes that with the Treasury counting every penny, there is zero chance of that happening.’
Source: The Guardian