Prime Minister Andy Burnham has ruled out scrapping stamp duty after reports suggested he planned to get rid of the tax. He said during a visit to Portsmouth on Monday that it “won’t be happening”, but he did pledge to “make taxation fairer”.
Denials and clarifications
Asked if he will change or scrap stamp duty in the next Budget, Mr Burnham told reporters: “That won’t be happening. I don’t know, actually, where some of the stories that have appeared over the last 24 hours have come from.”
He added: “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. It’s just not the case that we are bringing forward plans on that scale at this moment in time.”
Fairer taxation promise
Mr Burnham emphasised: “What we’re trying to do, though, is to make taxation fairer. I removed VAT off electricity bills, said we would do that, and that will come through later in the year. We are looking at how we take that little bit of pressure off people’s shoulders, reduce the cost of living.”
Downing Street had earlier dismissed suggestions that the Prime Minister was actively considering removing council tax, saying they are “not true”.
Stamp duty details and opposition reaction
Stamp duty is paid on property sales from £125,000 upwards. First-time buyers benefit from not having to pay any on purchases up to £300,000. However, the relief ends at prices over £500,000. Mr Burnham has previously said he has been “persuaded” of the argument for reforming the system.
The Conservatives criticised any potential change as Labour “looking for more ways to tax Middle England”. Shadow Housing Secretary Sir James Cleverly said: “Andy Burnham and Labour are just looking for more ways to tax Middle England, and raise taxes on people’s homes. Replacing council tax and stamp duty with a new house price tax would not be a tax cut for hardworking families – quite the reverse: people across England would end up paying more. This is just smoke and mirrors from the party that has already hiked both council tax and stamp duty. The Conservatives are the only party that will keep tax on the family home down – including by scrapping stamp duty entirely for primary residences.”
