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Stamp duty movement is too little too late according to John Charcol

2 September, 2008

Ray Boulger of Charcol says that "The housing market has spluttered through the last few months with indecision on whether there would be a redefining of stamp duty clearly costing the wider economy. A suspension for one year on stamp duty for properties up to £175,000 is absolutely not the answer to the problem. Yes, it will help a small minority of people, but the issue lies more with mortgage lenders and their ‘shut up shop' attitude to lending above certain loan-to-values. The government needs to address this situation above all others,"

"This move will effectively move the current starting level up by £50,000, something that should have been done years ago, and little more than that. One has to question whether the government has truly thought this through. John Charcol has calculated that a total suspension of stamp duty would only have cost the government less than £2 billion a year which we would argue is a small price to pay in order to ensure a fair playing field for all, breathing life into the market, let alone their own flagging reputation."