Govt announces stamp duty exemption scheme

02-Sep-2008

The government has announced a 12-month stamp duty exemption to be enforced on homes under £175,000.

Chancellor Alistair Darling reveals the plans in a bid to revive the UK's ailing housing market.

A statement from the Treasury says: "This will provide an exemption from stamp duty land tax for land transactions consisting entirely of residential property where the chargeable consideration is not more than £175,000."

Changes outlined today will save someone buying a £175,000 property a total of £1,750.

Estimates from the Treasury expect the one-year stamp duty freeze to cost the Government £600 million.

Around half a million home-buyers are predicted to benefit from the change in policy, with the government expecting half of all transactions now to be exempt from stamp duty.

Halifax, the UK's biggest mortgage lender, welcomes the move.

Nationwide reported the average price of a house in the UK in July to be £169,316, a 1.7 per cent decrease from the previous month.

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