The amount of money earned by the government through stamp duty is likely to rocket by about 20 per cent this year.
The increase is on the back of rising house prices and larger numbers of transactions, according to the Halifax.
Total revenue from property stamp duty is likely to hit £8 billion in the 2014-15 tax year, compared to £6.45bn in 2013-14. It will also overhaul the previous high of £6.68bn reached during the boom year of 2007-08.
However, the Halifax insists that there is little sign that the stamp duty changes announced by chancellor George Osborne in the autumn statement back in December will make any significant impact on the market, despite the new regime reducing duty on homes sold for £938,000 or less.
Around 75 per cent of buyers in England and Wales were liable to pay stamp duty in December and January but in London that figure rose to over 95 per cent compared with just 53 per cent of purchasers in north east England.
Some 81 per cent of stamp duty revenue in 2014-15 is alikely to have come from just four regions - London, the south east, south west and the east. London alone will contribute 42 per cent of the total.
Twenty years ago stamp duty secured less than eight per cent of its present total.
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Comments
Politicians doing things in order to get re-elected We need to make this public.
If you think Osborne was looking out for the best interests of the people with his stamp duty changes then you're severely deluded. The Tories are only ever interested in one thing and one thing only, making themselves and their rich mates richer.
These stamp duty changes have long been suggested by industry experts and yet the chancellor only decides to introduce them after 5 years of being in government, just a few months before a general election. As Rob says, I don't think George deserves credit for carrying out the obvious.
Yeah, funny how he announced the new system just a few months before the general election, isn't it It's like he was trying to curry favour with voters or something. Oh no, no, no, Georgy wouldn't do a thing like that.
At last, an increased tax take without penalising the people at the bottom of the ladder. Just shows that it can be done.
Well done George!