Stamp duty hitting low income buyers
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) has attacked the current rules on stamp duty land tax for imposing a crippling cost on first time buyers and people on low incomes.
A new poll reveals that 95 per cent of chartered surveyors believe the system is in need of 'urgent review', arguing that current tax bands do not reflect the present reality of the property market.
Currently, only those houses under £120,000 are exempt from stamp duty – a shrinking proportion of UK houses when the average price stands at £185,788.
The result, according to Rics, is that many people on low incomes are put off buying a property and remain on the less secure rental market for a longer period of time.
Jeremy Leaf, chairman of the Rics residential faculty, said: 'The structure of stamp duty is antique – this tax needs to catch up with the property market and house prices.'
The Rics wants the bottom threshold changed to £150,000, which would result in nearly 50 per cent of house purchases falling outside the tax.
Buyers facing a major stamp duty burden can gain the chance of critical financial support by looking into the range of competitive mortgage deals offered online. | 
