The RICS has called for stamp duty exemption to apply to residential estates in deprived areas.
Government proposals to make homes in selected deprived areas worth less than £150,000 exempt from stamp duty were announced by Chancellor Gordon Brown last year. But the RICS, in response to an Inland Revenue consultation document, has said that the exemption should also immediately apply to the sale of large housing estates where the individual unit price is under £150,000, and to rental accommodation where annual rent is under £10,000.
The response added: “The impact of the scheme will be minimal unless the threshold below which transactions in the residential sector are exempt from stamp duty is raised significantly.”
EGi News 25/02/02
