Stamp duty ''won''t feature in budget''

The Chancellor Gordon Brown is due to unveil his latest budget on Wednesday but changes to stamp duty are unlikely, according to one expert.

Colin Taylor from the Taxpayers'' Alliance, which campaigns for lower taxes, says that he would be surprised if stamp duty was altered in any way in Mr Brown''s speech but that changes are needed.

He said that changes should be made to overall rates as well as to the banding system so that house prices can even out and people are able to move house more, keeping the economy healthy.

Mr Taylor said: "Mr Brown might raise the bottom threshold, but he hasn''t raised the £250,000 and the £500,000 thresholds for years and it''s unlikely that he would raise the bottom one because he doubled it just before the election."

One thing which may change according to Mr Taylor is council tax because the Lyons report into local government finance recommended a new higher band of council tax so that more revenue could be gained from a tax on properties over a million pounds.


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