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Article: Stamp duty marks us all.(Brief Article)
- Article from:
- Financial Advisor
- Article date:
- February 3, 2005
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2005 FT Business. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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The housing market will take centre stage in the run-up to the next general election, expected this year. Stamp duty, an issue which has simmered but never fully come to the boil, threatens to dominate.
A Halifax report on stamp duty last week turned up the heat. It revealed a litany of statistics that highlighted the length and breadth of this Labour stealth tax.
The revenue from stamp duty has risen from AGBP65m in 1993-94 to an estimated AGBP4.3bn in 2004-05. The exchequer generates more money from stamp duty than capital gains tax.
The only average first-time buyers paying the duty in 1993 were in London where the only entry level was a ...