Monthly Archives: October 2015

Is The Stamp Duty System Creating A Boom and A Bust Simultaneously And Raising Less Money?

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In the Autumn Statement of 2014 the coalition government, at the time, were absolutely correct to get rid of the ‘slab-sided’ Stamp Duty Calculator in favour of a more progressive version in order to solve the sales of properties at around each of the margins.

For instance, properties were not sold between £2million and £2.3million since there was a great advantage to keep the price below £2million threshold as the incremental cost beyond this was a great deterrent for the purchaser. (example: the tax on a property bought under the old system at £1,950,000 was £97,500 where as at £2,050,000 it was £143,000 an increase in £46,000 for an extra £100,000 in the purchase price,which reflects a 46% tax at the margin). Continue reading →

George Osborne’s Autumn Statement 2015 – A Wish List

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When our esteemed Chancellor, George Osborne, stands up at the Ballot Box for his Autumn Statement in the Commons this year this is what we would, ideally, like him to address.

The housing market, particularly in London, is grinding to a halt burdened by the huge weight of the SDLT charges that were imposed in last year’s Autumn Statement. Continue reading →

David Cameron’s Latest Missives About kick Starting More Homes In The UK may be ‘A Eureka Moment’

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You have to hand it to the man he is trying to fill the political vacuum that Worzel Gummage (the leader of the Labour Party) has created and what more important topic could he have found to attack than the desperate lack of new housing in the UK?

Invariably the Planning Departments of Councils across the UK have a left wing bent and, hitherto, social housing for rent has been a pre-requisite to a successful planning consent for private housing development. Continue reading →