Chancellor Sajid Javid has rebuffed any suggestion that he could switch the payment of stamp duty land tax away from buyers onto the sellers.
The suggestion, taken from an interview published in The Times over the weekend Mr Javid said: “I’m a low-tax guy. I want to see simpler taxes.” Adding that he was looking at various option when asked about stamp duty reforms, including reversing liability from those buying property to those selling.
Following the story, Mr Javid took to Twitter to voice his concerns. He tweeted:
“More speculation about stamp duty this morning. To be clear, I never said to The Times I was planning to put it on sellers, and I wouldn’t support that. I know from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government that we need bold measures on housing – but this isn’t one of them.”
Stamp Duty Land Tax has been one of the big talking points in recent weeks. During the Conservative party leadership election, Boris Johnson suggested that the highest rate threshold was currently too high and was causing huge problems in London. He suggested reducing it from 12% to 7%. It has been suggested that the current surcharge on second homes could be removed.
Stamp Duty Land Tax has become increasingly complicated, with the Law Society acknowledging as much in its updated Conveyancing Protocol 2019 effective from 19th August 2019. Addressing concerns raised by practitioners the updated protocol recommends that you seek specialist tax advice if necessary.
In the interview with the newspaper, the Chancellor refused to give details of his plans to reform the tax system, instead saying “wait and see for the Budget” which is due to take place in the autumn.
Mr Javid also said he had not yet decided whether to hold the Budget before 31st October, the date the UK is expected to leave the EU.
