MPs want Stamp Duty holiday extended

A posse of Labour backbenchers has tabled an Early Day Motion for the extension of the Stamp Duty holiday beyond December 31 2009.

Since last September, properties costing less than £175,000 have been exempt from the tax, but the threshold at which Stamp Duty is charged is due to revert to its previous threshold of £125,000 on Jan 1st 2010.

MP Lindsay Hoyle raised the Motion stating that the group of MPs “recognises the importance of the current exemption in helping stimulate the housing market which has witnessed rising prices for the past seven months; further notes the need to continue helping families and individuals to buy property in the current economic climate; and urges the government to extend the Stamp Duty exemption in order to stimulate the housing market further and to help the economy grow in 2010.”

Peter Bolton-King, Chief Executive of the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) and the Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA), bodies which have been lobbying for an extension of the holiday for some time, said:

"The current Stamp Duty "holiday" for properties lower than £175,000 is due to expire at the start of 2010. The housing market is on the road to recovery; in particular, we're seeing the return of first time buyers. If the Stamp Duty exemption is not extended at this fragile point of recovery, we fear that months of work will instantly unravel causing a great deal of damage to the market.

"The industry is crying out for the Chancellor to take action in his Pre Budget Report next week - in a recent survey by the NAEA, 91 per cent of estate agents called for the threshold to remain at £175,000 for the foreseeable future."