Mark Chilton, CEO of Purely Mortgages commented: “Clearly, the Tory pledge to abolish 1% stamp duty for house purchases up to £250,000 is a blatant vote generating move, but it is a step in the right direction. While one wonders where the Conservatives would make up for this hole in tax revenue, a change like this would certainly bring relief for many first time buyers, especially those wanting to buy in major UK cities and the South East.
“For it to be viable the Tories would surely also have to add in extra tiers of stamp duty on properties worth over £1,000,000 and £2,000,000 to make up for the lower end of the market, but clearly they won’t want to alienate their voting base.
“We’d also like to see any Government make a commitment to inflation linked increases to all stamp duty levels in the future and put in sensible, progressive levels upwards of £250,000.”
