THE National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) today welcomed as a major victory Alistair Darling’s decision to raise the threshold of stamp duty land tax for two years.
The NAEA has long campaigned for a major rethink on stamp duty – which it believes to be a tax on aspiration. Today in the final Budget before the election, Mr Darling listened and raised the threshold to £250,000 from midnight tonight.
Peter Bolton King, chief executive of the NAEA, said: “For thousands of first time buyers the dream of getting onto the property ladder was slipping out of reach.
“This announcement has added a new rung to the property ladder, one within reach of thousands of young families.
“We have long argued that stamp duty is a tax on aspiration that smothered the natural demand of the market. We still believe that more reform is needed and there is more work to be done, but this is a good first step – a major victory for first time buyers.”
The NAEA has for years called for a major reform of stamp duty land tax, beginning with the threshold being raised. Most recently in the run up to this Budget the association led a coalition of property organisations in calling for reform, under the banner of the 1808 campaign. More information on the 1808 campaign can be found at http://www.nfopp.co.uk/1808/
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