Stamp Duty due to return
Nottingham Property Services (NPS), the estate agency arm of The Nottingham Building Society, believes a large number of people living in the East Midlands could be hit with unwanted Stamp Duty liabilities should the Government choose to reintroduce the tax in 2010.
The estate agency is urging those who have a home worth £175,000 or less and are currently thinking about selling a home, negotiating with buyers, or have sold subject to contract, to pull out all the stops complete the sale. If they exchange contracts before the end of the year their buyer can avoid paying Stamp Duty.
The temporary changes to Stamp Duty were introduced on 2 September 2008 and are scheduled to run until 31 December 2009. What happens next is open to debate as Chancellor Alistair Darling and Treasury officials have not ruled out reintroducing the tax for those buying homes worth between £125,000 and £175,000 in the New Year.
Nationally the government could have forfeited more than £274 million on 174,000 house purchases.
"If the Government maintained the current position on Stamp Duty it would be a welcome boost for the national and local property markets. But I think predicting which way any decision will go is too close to call," commented Lorraine Giddings, Head of The Nottingham’s Branch Network.
"On one hand the Government is in a difficult position as it needs the revenue that is generated from Stamp Duty. On the other, the housing market is at the beginning of a long road to recovery and any decision to reintroduce Stamp Duty could hinder progress.
"In my opinion, the Chancellor is going to have to do something – but second-guessing which decision he will make could prove very hard. That’s why we are recommending to people who are serious about selling their homes that they should act decisively now."
Date: 4th, November, 2009
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