Why is the property market in London so constipated? Definitely not the
least of the reasons is the great Labour Stamp Duty swindle, well, not
so much swindle as sleep walk. Allow me to elucidate.
We all know dear
old Gordon thought he’d spotted a good way of clobbering the middle
classes by putting up Stamp Duty. Several years later, the situation is
like this. Moving house, or rather the exorbitant cost of doing so, is
now the preferred topic of conversation at smart dinner parties, which
means it really must be serious.
If your house is worth over £500k, and
a lot of influential owners’ are, it now costs c. 8% of the entire
value of your gaff to move. Even if your house is worth £250k - £500k
it’s still an outrageous 6-7%, and the majority of this is Stamp Duty
Land Tax.
Every time we move we buy carpets, curtains, kitchen kit and
probably new beds, sofas etc on which the Revenue would take huge
chunks of VAT and lots of jobs safeguarded. Problem is no one is
moving, partly why we’ve been seeing some steep price rises.
Gordon
probably doesn’t mind that much as high house prices carry a feel good
factor. Problem is that these non movers are employing tens of
thousands of Poles and Eastern Europeans to build basements, side
extensions and lofts. These workers are the types who most likely send
the majority of their earnings home and live cheaply.
So well done then
Gordon, you’re missing out on all that VAT revenue that would help all
of us, no one’s moving, and those workers that I’m pretty sure we’re
supporting to some extent on benefits are sending most of their money
home and not benefiting anybody in the UK at all, great. Transactional
volumes are undergoing a seismic shift downwards so the revenue must be
kicking themselves that the SDLT take is plummeting and will most
likely continue to.
I asked a high up contact at Tory central office if
they’d make changes in Stamp Duty to restore the status quo and was
assured it was on the agenda. For all our sakes I hope it is and that
this absurd Tax is changed as soon as possible.