2 August 2022
If you are covering HMRC’s Quarterly Stamp Duty Land Tax statistics this morning, please see the following comment from Karen Noye, mortgage expert at Quilter:
"Today’s stamp duty statistics show that the amount of the tax paid is rebounding and the number of transactions paying stamp duty land tax were 7% higher than in Q1 2022. However, figures remain 26% lower than in Q2 2021. The rise in transactions in this quarter follows consecutive falls in the previous three quarters, which is largely as a result of the housing market starting to show signs of a slow down with the number of house sales falling following its boom during the pandemic.
"Both contenders for next leader of the Conservative Party have remained muted about a cut to stamp duty. In the early part of his original leadership campaign, Boris Johnson had tabled a plan to ditch the tax altogether, which was eventually somewhat realised during the pandemic when a stamp duty holidays were put in place to keep the housing market afloat. With those holidays now well and truly ended, stamp duty could become another political hot potato if either candidate decide to come out strongly about its future.
"Elsewhere, the 2% surcharge on the purchase of residential properties by non-residents continues to rake in millions for the government after it was introduced on 1 April 2021 as part of the Tory manifesto. The relatively new surcharge resulted in 2,600 transactions in Q2 2022, this is a 13% increase when compared to Q1 2022 which saw 2,300 transactions, illustrating that foreign investment in UK property is rebounding, with investors so far not put off by the extra tax. To date, a total 12,600 transactions have incurred this surcharge raking in £141 million of additional tax.
"Foreign property investment has for a long time been seen as damaging for communities if the properties are ultimately left empty. This is particularly evident in London where prime real estate is bought purely for investment purposes ultimately leaving communities feeling like ghost towns."
