Prime Minister Andy Burnham has ruled out scrapping stamp duty this year, but says he’s open to the opportunity to replace it in future.

There’s been extensive speculation that Burnham favoured an annual proportional property tax to replace stamp duty.

But this afternoon he was asked by journalists whether stamp duty would be scrapped at his first Budget, scheduled for October.

He said: “Yes, I can say that quite clearly. That won’t be happening. It’s just not the case that we are bringing forward plans, on that scale, at this moment in time.”

A Sky News report this afternoon says Burnham seemed exasperated about where the speculation came from, saying that somebody within “100 yards of [me] could say something, and then all of a sudden it’s my policy”.

On taxation, he added: “What we’re trying to do, though, is to make taxation fairer. I removed VAT off electricity bills. I said we would do that, and that will come through later in the year.

“We are looking at how we take that little bit of pressure off people’s shoulders, reduce the cost of living. These are priorities, and we obviously will keep working towards them.”

Earlier today Simon Gerrard, chairman of Martyn Gerrard Estate Agents, said speculation over Burnham’s stamp duty intentions were already making potential buyers ask – what do we do now?

“A clear signal needs to be urgently sent as to what will happen to those people paying Stamp Duty now. 

“At the moment, many people are putting off purchasing decisions because they fear paying a hefty amount in Stamp Duty on a home and then having this new tax imposed on top.

“Anyone who’s paid Stamp Duty on a property prior to any land value tax should receive an exemption for an amount of time equivalent to what they’ve already paid. Without this, the market will cease to function.

“The government has a duty to instil confidence and maintain stability that it has completely forgotten.”