Darling urged to clarify stance on stamp duty

07-Aug-2008

Mortgage lenders and house builders have urged the chancellor to clarify his intentions regarding stamp duty.

Alistair Darling said in an interview with the BBC this week that he is considering "a range of options" to help remedy the housing market - and did not deny that a stamp duty holiday is one of them.

However, the House Builders Federation claims that confusion could cause thousands of potential home buyers to delay property purchases they have been considering.

"If this is to be debated in public for too long, clearly it could be detrimental to the market in terms of making people think about whether to proceed with a transaction," remarked a spokesperson.

"We don't want to be waiting until November."

It has been estimated that the average buyer would save between £5,000 and £9,000 as a result of the tax's suspension.

Philip Hammond, the shadow chief secretary to the Treasury, said Mr Darling's lack of clarity presents "the worst of both worlds", with a possible delay in property transactions but no definite proposal present.

Another option under consideration by officials is enabling first-time buyers to save tax-free funds towards a deposit.

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