Chancellor advised to replace levy with an annual property tax as Treasury considers overhaul of system
Rachel Reeves has been urged to abolish the “sin tax” of stamp duty in the budget by property experts including TV presenter Kirstie Allsopp, as the chancellor faced calls to replace it with an annual property tax.
Allsopp, presenter of Channel 4 property shows including Location, Location, Location, said “people are in a panic” about potential stamp duty changes, and “sitting tight” ahead of the 26 November budget.
Speaking to MPs on the Treasury committee, she said: “We have to be very careful not to see buying property as a sin, because at the moment it’s a sin tax. It’s like cigarettes and alcohol and first-class travel.
“You are actually punished for wanting to buy a more expensive property than the previous one, and that is wrong … Everybody tells you that it is an economic positive to encourage people to move house.”
