Howard pledges to abolish stamp duty

Michael Howard has today pledged to abolish stamp duty for millions of homeowners if the Tories win the general election.

17:36 21 April 2005

Michael Howard has today pledged to abolish stamp duty for millions of homeowners if the Tories win the general election.

The Conservative leader announced today that his party would increase the stamp duty threshold from 125,000 to 250,000, slashing taxes by 1 billion.

An average house buyer in Britain would be exempt from stamp duty under the proposals, benefiting both first time buyers looking to get on the housing ladder, as well as existing homeowners looking to move into larger properties, he said.

Mr Howard said that stamp duty was one of the government's "stealth taxes" which imposed an unfair burden on homeowners. The amount of money raised from stamp duty on residential property has gone up from 675 million to 3,795 million since 1997.

"Life is a struggle for too many families in Britain today. Last year average incomes fell for the first time in a decade - thanks to Mr Blair's punishing stealth taxes. But it's not enough to criticise. It's time to offer practical help and that's what Conservatives will do," he said.

Today's announcement comes under the Tories' pledge of 4 billion worth of tax cuts, including promises to reduce council tax, as well as making pensions savings exempt from tax.

Labour and the Liberal Democrats have branded the Tory plans as "fantasy economics". Chancellor Gordon Brown denounced the plans as "irresponsible and ultimately fraudulent".

Concern has also been voiced that slashing stamp duty could lead to an increase in property prices and inflation rates.