Labour to scrap stamp duty for majority of first-time buyers
Labour party leader Ed Miliband has pledged to write-off stamp duty for first time buyers of homes below £300,000 for the first three years of an elected Labour government.
The move is intended to stimulate home ownership and will save first-time buyers an average of £5,000. Locals would be given priority for half of all new homes in their area.
It's the right thing to do to enable people to get back on the housing ladder.
Speaking in Stockton, Teeside, Miliband said: "There's nothing more British than the dream of home ownership, but for so many people in our country that dream is fading. It's the right thing to do to enable people to get back on the housing ladder and that's what a Labour government will do."
Labour have said the move would cost £225m and that it would be funded by a clampdown on tax-dodging landlords and less tax relief for landlords who fail to maintain properties. Additional funding would be raised by higher taxes on foreign property investors, with buyers from outside the EU paying at least 3% more stamp duty.
The changes would only apply in England and Wales, as stamp-duty legislation in Scotland has been devolved to the Scottish Parliament.
The Conservative party insisted that the pledge would cost at least £520m, twice as much as Labour have budgeted for. The Liberal Democrats raised similar concerns, with a spokesperson claiming Labour's “sums simply don't add up”.
However, the policy has received largely positive reception from analysts.
"It’s right to help first time buyers get onto the property ladder, which could also provide a boost to the economy and the housing market," said CBI Director-general John Cridland.
"We urgently need more homes for people to buy, which is why the number one priority for housing policy must be building 240,000 new properties each year."
There were 326,500 first time buyers in England and Wales in 2014, paying an average of £205,000.