"Absurdly high" Stamp Duty: AAT proposes solution to Boris Johnson’s concerns

Following Boris Johnson’s widely publicised comments this week that Stamp Duty is "absurdly high", AAT has proposed a solution that would see it reduced for all homebuyers.

Phil Hall, AAT Head of Public Affairs & Public Policy, said:

AAT has long recommended switching Stamp Duty liability from the buyer to the seller, which would lead to a Stamp Duty reduction for every house buyer in the country. It would also eliminate Stamp Duty for all first-time buyers without having to waste £670 million a year on the latest subsidy scheme, which came into force for first-time buyers last November.

Given this would help address the concerns Boris Johnson and many others have expressed, whilst simultaneously protecting the £9.3 billion of tax receipts that residential Stamp Duty generates, switching liability to the seller seems like a no-brainer.

AAT's recommendation for Stamp Duty liability to be switched to the seller was presented in a letter to Chancellor Philip Hammond ahead of the 2017 Autumn Budget.