Budget 2017 stamp duty: What did Philip Hammond say about stamp duty TODAY?
First-time buyers are celebrating after Mr Hammond abolished stamp duty for those buying their first homes worth up to £300,000.
The stamp duty cut also applies to the first £300,000 of homes worth half a million in order to get more people on the first rung of the housing ladder.
Philip Hammond said: “With effect from today for all first-time buyer purchases up to £300,000, I am abolishing stamp duty altogether."
The Budget said it will permanently exempt first-time buyers from stamp duty for properties up to £300,000, with "purchasers benefiting on homes up to £500,000”.
The Chancellor's announcement on stamp duty for some first-time buyers was part of his efforts to solve the housing crisis.
Mr Hammond also unveiled a raft of proposals on housing in a bid meet the target of building 300,000 homes a year to solve Britain's housing crisis.
Hannah Maundrell, editor in chief of money.co.uk, said: “Great news for anyone buying their first home as stamp duty gets abolished for first time buyers from today.
“This will make getting on the property ladder slightly more affordable for anyone buying a home worth up to £300,000, or up to £500,000 in high cost areas as there will be no stamp duty to pay on the first £300,000.
“What it won’t do is solve the affordability gap between property prices and wages that many wannabe homeowners face, this is the bigger challenge the chancellor has tried to break the back of with his announcements on boosts for the home building sector.”
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Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said he backed the abolition of stamp duty for first time buyers because it was another Labour policy in its manifesto in June.
He said: "This Government continues preference for spin over substance, that means across this country the words Northern Powerhouse and Midlands Engine are now met with derision."
At the weekend, Mr Hammond told BBC One’s The Andrew Marr Show: "We recognise the challenge for young first-time buyers, that in many parts of the country deposits are now very large,”
“Nobody is saying we’ve done enough. We must do more. We recognise there’s a challenge there and on Wednesday I shall set out how we intend to address it.”
Matt Robinson, CEO of online estate agent Nested, said: “Families in cities like London have been hung out to dry by Philip Hammond in today’s Budget, as he doesn’t do nearly enough to solve the capital’s stagnant market.
“By only introducing cuts in Stamp Duty for properties under £500,000, the vast majority of London buyers will remain heavily penalised, where a modest family home can easily go for over one million pounds.
“The Chancellor failed to provide any solution for those already on the property ladder and reliant on quick sales to downsize or move into their dream home.
“Far more still needs to be done to aid affordability and loosen up the market.”
Alex Gosling, CEO of online estate agents HouseSimple, said: ”Many will feel the Chancellor should have gone further and abolished stamp duty altogether.
“It's an archaic tax that hurts the people who need help the most, and is nothing more than an easy way for the Treasury to fill its boots."
Ben Southwood, head of research at the free market think tank the Adam Smith Institute, is calling on the Chancellor to scrap Stamp Duty completely.
He said: ”Stamp Duty Land Tax is the most damaging major levy on the books, slicing 75p off the economy for every pound it raises—many multiples more than council tax, income tax, or VAT.
“It gums up the housing market by lumping people with huge bills for moving, stopping people from moving to get new jobs, and discouraging downsizing or upsizing.
"It’s also hated by those who pay it, coming in one giant bill and usually the largest single payment a household will ever make to the exchequer."
Mr Hammond gave his budget speech today (Wednesday November 22) in the House of Commons.
