Prime Minister Andy Burnham has ruled out scrapping stamp duty, after weekend reports suggested the tax could be abolished.
Speaking at HM Naval Base in Portsmouth on Monday (27 July) following a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Mr Burnham was asked about potential changes to property taxes. He replied: "That won’t be happening."
Denial of reports
Mr Burnham questioned the source of the speculation. "I don’t know actually where some of the stories that have appeared over the last 24 hours have come from," he said. "It seems that somebody within, I don’t know, 100 yards of me can say something, and then all of a sudden it’s my policy. Or someone can pass me something, and then I support everything within the document."
He added: "It’s just not the case that we are bringing forward plans on that scale at this moment in time. So I’m quite happy to give you that clarification."
Tax fairness
While ruling out stamp duty abolition, Mr Burnham said the government is looking at making taxation fairer. He noted the removal of VAT from electricity bills, which will take effect later this year. "We are looking at how we take that little bit of pressure off people’s shoulders, reduce the cost-of-living," he said.
Stamp duty is paid on property sales from £125,000 upwards. First-time buyers are exempt on purchases up to £300,000, with the relief ending at £500,000.
Council tax reform
The Prime Minister’s comments follow his appearance on BBC Panorama on Sunday (26 July), where he criticised the unfairness of the current council tax system. He acknowledged the need to honour the Labour manifesto but told Laura Kuenssberg he understood why some people feel the system is disproportionate.
"There are people here in Greater Manchester who pay a much higher council tax than people living in much larger homes in London," he said. He noted that former Chancellor Rachel Reeves was right to start reforming council tax to create fairness based on property value.
Downing Street has dismissed reports by The i Paper claiming the Prime Minister is considering scrapping council tax, calling them "not true."
