Almost 6 Fold Increase In Stamp Duty Collection In London - Hughes

12.01.00am BST (GMT +0100) Thu 8th Apr 2004

Stamp duty in London has rocketed by almost 500% in the last 6 years to £965million according to new figures revealed by Liberal Democrat London Mayoral candidate Simon Hughes.

The figures taken from Inland Revenue figures show that in 1996-97, £165million was raised in stamp duty in the capital. By 2002-03 this had rocketed to £965million - an increase of 484%. Following the Budget, this rise is set to continue as house prices in London continue to rocket.

Simon Hughes said: "Increases in stamp duty and the house price boom have brought in millions in extra income for the Chancellor in the last seven years from London. Stamp duty is a classic Gordon Brown stealth tax - it discourages something that is good for the economy, it makes life more expensive and there is significant tax evasion."

"The present system encourages tax avoidance by otherwise honest people, and discourages people from moving house for no reason. Modernising the system to make it more like other taxes would make the system fairer and reduce evasion."

"If the Chancellor reforms the system he can encourage honesty at no cost to the public purse. Stamp duty is unfair because it penalises people for moving house, when we should be encouraging mobility rather than discouraging it."

ENDS

Notes

The figures are taken from the Inland Revenue and show the yield attributable to residential property:-

Stamp Duty (£millions)

1996-97 165

1997-98 220

1998-99 305

1999-2000 595

2000-01 710

2001-2002 820

2002-2003 965

%age increase 484.84

Total increase £800m

http://www.inlandrevenue.gov.uk/stats/stamp_duty/03IR152.pdf