Estate agent sceptical about stamp duty

An estate agent in Henley has expressed scepticism that the government will do anything to lower the stamp duty burden.

Paul Dalton from Dalton's estate agents told the Henley Standard: "I think suspending stamp duty would be a good thing."

However, he added, it is not something the government is likely to do, commenting: "The revenue the Government received from stamp duty last year was £6.5 billion. Can you imagine them giving that up?"

Uncertainty about the government's intentions concerning the tax have arisen following recent admissions that it is considering changes to stamp duty but will not announce any decision before the November pre-budget statement.

The National Association of Estate Agents has said a poll of members has found a quarter of them seeing transactions falling through as buyers opt to wait for a decision rather than proceeding now.

Those who opt for self build can avoid the issue of stamp duty completely as this is not levied on such properties.