First time buyers hope for budget sweetener

11-Mar-2005

Gordon Brown is facing growing pressure to include stamp duty reforms in his budget speech.

The chancellor announces his budget to MPs next week and there have been calls for him to offer a pre-election sweetener for first time buyers.

Stamp duty can be a major obstacle for people looking to get on the first rung of the property ladder.

In recent weeks both the Liberal Democrats and a number of leading building societies have urged Mr Brown to take action.

The Lib Dems would like to see the stamp duty threshold raised from £60,000 to £100,000.

Meanwhile, leading building societies handed the chancellor a 20,000-signature petition urging him to reform stamp duty to help more first time buyers come into the market.

It is unclear yet as to whether Mr Brown plans to include such a move in his budget speech.

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