Bringing stamp duty down would be an important stimulus for the housing market and reinvigorate the housing ‘micro-economy’, according to MHA MacIntyre Hudson.

The chartered accountant suggested the Government needs to take immediate action on stamp duty and reassess the role of the property market in the UK economy.

MHA MacIntyre Hudson partner, Chris Denning, said that stamp duty has “long been an arbitrary barrier in the housing market” that prices people out of purchases, while generating less than 2% of the Government’s overall tax take – according to tax receipt figures from Statista based on the 2018/19 tax year.

“In the current extraordinary circumstances, lowering stamp duty, even temporarily, would be an important stimulus for the housing market and wider economy,” Denning commented. “Tax losses from a reduction in the rate could even be recouped by an increase in the number of sales.
 
“A stamp duty cut would help people with existing plans to move home, and people considering a move, for example out of the city, because they’ll now be working remotely more often. As working arrangements and personal financial circumstances change, the UK will require a degree of right-sizing between homes.
 
Denning also suggested the Government should formally review the property market’s place in the wider economy.

“There’s a micro-economy built around every house purchase, with knock-on benefits for all kinds of businesses – solicitors, estate agents, removal companies, furniture retailers, building and renovations,” he added.

“There’s currently no data to capture this overall benefit to the economy. The wider benefits should be factored in, pushing a housing market recovery higher up the Government’s radar.”

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