Graduated stamp duty and a freeze on property taxes are just two of the issues the CML wants to see set in stone in any announced reforms on the 17 March.
The lender trade body also wants the government to stop its more ‘piecemeal interventions’ in the housing market and think about implementing measures which encourage homeownership.
Research from international development organisation, the OECD, has shown that the UK has one of the most highly-taxed property regimes in the developed world. In 2001, property-related taxation stood at 4.32 per cent of GDP in the UK, compared to 3.05 per cent in the USA or 1.96 per cent across the 15 EU members.
Government revenue has increased dramatically with stamp duty alone, rising from £830 million in 1997/98 to £3,590 million in 2002/03 as a result of new thresholds and rising house prices.
Peter Williams, CML deputy director general, commented: “The housing market has so much potential to contribute to delivering the government's economic objectives, but only if Ministers start to develop a clear vision for it, in place of the current ragbag of piecemeal interventions.”
