Prime Minister Andy Burnham has ruled out scrapping stamp duty, ending speculation that the tax could be abolished. Speaking during a visit to Portsmouth on Monday, he told reporters that “won’t be happening”.
Stamp Duty Not Scrapped
Stamp duty is currently paid on property sales from £125,000 upwards, with first-time buyers exempt on purchases up to £300,000. The relief ends at prices over £500,000. Asked directly if he would change or scrap the tax in the next budget, Mr Burnham stated: “That won’t be happening.”
He added: “I don’t know actually where some of the stories that have appeared over the last 24 hours have come from. 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.”
Council Tax Reform
Mr Burnham criticised the unfairness of the current council tax system, telling the BBC there are “big decisions ahead”. Downing Street dismissed suggestions the Prime Minister is actively considering removing council tax, calling them “not true”.
The Prime Minister has previously said he has been “persuaded” of the argument for reforming the system. Speaking to Laura Kuenssberg on the BBC’s Panorama programme, he said: “There are people here in Greater Manchester who pay a much higher council tax than people living in much larger homes in London. So the Chancellor before, Rachel Reeves, was right to start to reform council tax to create some fairness there in relation to people in homes that are of much greater value, who haven’t seen their council tax go up over the years because of the failure to revalue the banding. So that’s an example of something that I think was right and fair.”
Mr Burnham also noted the need to honour the manifesto on which Labour was elected, adding: “If I was to bring forward any changes, obviously people would rightly say, well, is this consistent with that manifesto? So there are big decisions ahead, you are right about that.”
Other Tax Measures
Mr Burnham pledged to “make taxation fairer”, citing the removal of VAT off electricity bills, which he said “will come through later in the year” and aims to “take that little bit of pressure off people’s shoulders, reduce the cost of living.”
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “As has always been the case, decisions on tax are a matter for the Chancellor to set out at fiscal events.”
Political Reactions
Labour backbencher Jonathan Brash, chairman of the cross-party group of MPs on council tax reform, called for “wholesale reform”. The Labour MP for Hartlepool told the i Paper: “Council tax is one of the most unfair taxes in Britain, and nowhere is that injustice clearer than in towns like Hartlepool.” He has previously pointed out that band A homes in Hartlepool pay nearly 2.5 times more than in Westminster.
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.”
