Investment - Articles - Axing stamp duty and the possible impact

 Sarah Coles, head of personal finance, Hargreaves Lansdown: “The latest new proposal to emerge from the Conservative Party conference is a banning of stamp duty on your main home. There have been a huge number of changes to stamp duty over the years, so it can never be ruled out, but there are serious question marks over what it might achieve, and whether it’s likely to happen.

 Having a tax bill when you buy a home doesn’t make the process any easier, but it’s not necessarily the biggest barrier someone faces when they buy and sell. Take someone downsizing, for instance, from a £750,000 property to a £300,000 one. In England and Northern Ireland, they’d pay £5,000 in stamp duty. It’s a fraction of what they’re likely to pay in estate agency fees, and sits along a huge range of costs from conveyancing to removals. It begs the question of whether removing the cost of the tax is a gamechanger.

 Meanwhile, a first-time buyer pays no stamp duty at all on a first property costing £300,000. For them, the enormous challenge is raising a deposit, and one of the most valuable tools at their disposal is the Lifetime ISA, offering a 25% government bonus on all contributions.

 It’s also vital to consider the potential impact on the Treasury, where else this money might come from and what other taxes might rise. It's an interesting addition to the debate, but it’s only a suggestion from an opposition party, and with just under four years to an election, it’s highly likely that things will change between now and then.

 By contrast, there were no new suggestions from the conference hall on changes to stamp duty on shares, which is a needless drag on investors who support the UK market. Given that the government is said to be considering a stamp duty exemption on shares newly listed on the London Stock Exchange in the Budget, this was a missed opportunity to get in ahead of any announcement.”