Stamp duty second in 'most hated taxes' poll

Stamp duty has come second in a poll of the taxes people despise the most, it has been revealed.

A survey by Co-operative Financial Services found that only inheritance tax was loathed more, with 31 per cent wishing to see it abolished.

Stamp duty would be axed by 23 per cent of respondents, a higher number than council tax or motoring taxes.

The news comes just days after shadow housing minister Grant Shapps called on chancellor of the exchequer Alistair Darling to adopt the Conservative Party policy of abolishing stamp duty for first-time buyers on homes worth less than £250,000.

However the government may be reluctant to lose the extra revenue generated by the duty, which rose by 40 per cent to £6.4 billion in the 2006-07 financial year, Halifax has stated.

People undertaking the self build of their homes can, however, escape the reviled tax already as long as the land they buy to build on is worth less than the lower threshold level.


© Adfero Ltd