Government urged to change stamp duty.

Alistair Darling is being put under pressure to make big changes to the stamp duty system.

The chancellor is due to deliver his first Budget in March and many commentators believe that he may take the opportunity to raise the stamp duty threshold.

However, although the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) is also calling for the threshold to be raised, the organisation would like to see other changes made.

Under the NAEA’s proposals, the threshold would be increased to £200,000, with a one per cent tax levied on properties worth up to £300,000.

The organisation wants a system to be introduced whereby tax is only paid on the part of the value above the threshold.

For example, on a property worth £250,000, the first £200,000 would be tax free, while a one per cent tax would be levied against the final £50,000.

“The government needs to be aware that with inflation rising consumers need a helping hand. We would like to see a scale of stamp duty that reflects the house price inflation in recent years,” commented Stewart Lilly from the NAEA.

The proposals would see the highest level of council tax, 4.5 per cent, levied on properties worth over £2 million.

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