A lobby group claims London buyers could face a 36 per cent leap in stamp duty later this year if capital appreciation means the average price of a home in the capital tops the £500,001 mark.
The Taxpayers' Alliance claims that, based on Office of National Statistics figures, the average house price in London will shortly enter the four per cent stamp duty category.
The capital's prices have risen 20 per cent in the year to May according to the ONS, taking a typical home to £492,000. Even at that level, a buyer would have to fork out £14,760 in tax.
But the group claims that if prices rise just another 1.7 per cent to £500,364 the stamp duty bill, breaking the four per cent threshold, will rocket to £20,014, an increase of 36 per cent.
Property consultancy JLL claims that the Treasury will pocket an extra £85m in taxes over the next year if average-priced London properties rise to above the £500,001 level.
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Comments
There is absolutely zero chance that the government will change this tax downwards. It will be interesting to see what effect moving into an average price above 500,000 in London will have. My guess, is nothing noticeable!
Average price of 500,000 What a depressing statistic. Hopefully this is the tipping point for the property market in London and things start to slow down and change. Something needs to be done, because prices in the capital have gone completely ridiculous and are becoming completely unaffordable to a vast proportion of the population. That's just not right.
This is ridiculous! An 'average' price of 500,000 for a property in London is absurd. It's such a shame that normal people who work in London can't even afford to buy a house there, especially compared to the average prices in the rest of the country! But I suppose the government loves the extra tax money so nothing is likely to change...