With Friday’s mini-budget reported to announce stamp duty cuts, Black Brick’s Founder Camilla Dell joined a panel of property experts and UK buying agents in PrimeResi this week, sharing her reactions.
“I am not convinced cutting stamp duty will aid investment into the UK.”, she said.
“The market has absorbed stamp duty increases since they were first introduced in 2014. The cost of stamp duty, whilst high in the UK, is not a deciding factor for investment here, particularly for high net worth individuals who simply factor the stamp duty cost into the overall price of a property. Previous cuts to stamp duty also haven’t really worked.”
“For example, during Covid, the then Chancellor Rishi Sunak cut stamp duty for all purchases up to £500,000. The cut benefitted all buyers; everyone from first time buyers to second home owners, investors and overseas buyers. The end result was that house prices rose, higher than the actual cut in stamp duty. An unintended consequence, and proof that simplistic cuts to tax don’t work or benefit those who need them most.”
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