New figures from Blick Rothenberg has revealed that to date, The Treasury has so far made around £2bn as a result of the 3% Stamp Duty surcharge on additional homes.
The latest statistics released by HMRC to 31st July 2017 show that the number of property transactions is now 1,204,730 which is largely the same as the figures released two years ago. However, the greater rate of tax on additional properties means that Stamp Duty Land Tax receipts have risen by 20% in the same period. This works out to an extra £2bn in tax.
Stamp Duty
Originally, forecasts estimated the changes would make half as much from the policy between the years 2016-2020.
Robert Pullen, Director at Blick Rothenberg noted: ‘Some of this increase could relate to general property price increases, but it is likely that the majority relates to the changes from 1 April 2016, which added an additional 3% SDLT for purchases of additional residential properties.
Stamp Duty has raised £2bn already from investors
“The policy intention was always stated to be to realign the residential property market to make it fairer for first time buyers. It is becoming clearer, however, that as prices continue to rise the measure has succeeded only in generating extra tax for HMRC as well as a sluggish property market evidenced by the number of property transactions falling. The government will need to urgently consider whether the additional 3% SDLT policy is helping achieve fairness in the property market, or if it is creating more problems than it is solving.’[1]
[1] https://www.landlordtoday.co.uk/breaking-news/2017/8/landlord-tax-raises-2bn-from-buy-to-let-investors