MP wants stamp duty switched from buyers to sellers

In advance of next month’s budget, Conservative MP John Stevenson has called for stamp duty to be paid by sellers. The idea, he believes, would help the Tories to re-engage with younger voters due to the beneficial effect on first-time buyers.

Endorsing the idea in an article on the Conservative Home website, Mr Stevenson outlined three key benefits of the proposal.

“Firstly, it helps first-time buyers …. For first time buyers, who don’t have the luxury of a significant capital amount behind them after having sold another property, this could mean this difference between buying their new home and not,” he writes.

“Secondly there is fact that as it’s the seller who has access to a large lump sum (that is, the value of the house) they and their mortgage advisers can factor that in to the arithmetic.

“Finally, the change will help growing families move through the property chain to find the larger houses they will inevitably need. A growing family would only pay stamp duty on the smaller, often lower-valued property – opening up the market for larger premises.”

Simon Gerrard, a past president of the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA), has also claimed that moving the responsibility of stamp duty from buyers onto sellers would make it easier for first-time buyers and for second-steppers looking to move up the property ladder. The Yorkshire Building Society and London estate agent, Trevor Abrahmsohn have also called for the switch.

However, Mr Stevenson admits that there could be issues with the proposal; in particular in ensuring that people who already own properties aren’t made to pay twice once the reversal is achieved. However, he went on to say that he believes the move would be a “meaningful and effective way of demonstrating to the young and aspirational that the Government continues to support those who want to get on”.

Stamp duty reform is likely to be a vital issue when the Chancellor of the Exchequer presents his Autumn Budget to Parliament on 22nd November 2017. NAEA Propertymark has put it at the heart of its submission to the Government, calling for first-time buyers to be exempt from stamp duty in a bid to encourage more people into home ownership. NAEA Propertymark also wants pensioners who downsize to a smaller home to be exempt.