HOUSEBUYERS are paying more than double the stamp duty on an average house than seven years ago, according to the Conservatives.
Oliver Letwin, the Shadow Chancellor, said that in May 1997 a house of average value would come with a stamp duty bill of £680; the same purchase would now cost £1,573 in stamp duty. This was partly because of the rise in house prices since Labour came to power, and partly because Gordon Brown had introduced two higher rates of stamp duty on properties worth more than £250,000 and £500,000. Mr Letwin argued that the threshold at which the higher rates are paid should rise.
The Treasury said it was not prepared to index-link stamp duty to property prices and was following the practice of previous governments.