Chancellor Gordon Brown has ignored in the Budget calls from the Council of Mortgage Lenders for the threshold above which stamp duty becomes applicable to be raised from £60,000 to £85,400 in order to bring it into line with house price inflation.
However, the Daily Telegraph says, there are still loopholes that mean buyers can avoid paying higher stamp duty.
While stamp duty is still levied at 1% on purchases between £60,000 and £250,000, and 3% on those above £250,000 but below £500,000, buyers of a house worth £260,000 for instance can assign £10,000 of the purchase price to chattels or items not subject to stamp duty such as curtains and carpets.
On very expensive properties its still possible to assign a large sum to the right to buy rather than to the property itself, allowing stamp duty to be levied at a lower rate.
Daily Telegraph Your Money 20/04/02 page B6
