Rachel Reeves has been urged to abolish the \u201csin tax\u201d of stamp duty in the budget by property experts including TV presenter Kirstie Allsopp, as the chancellor faced calls to replace it with an annual property tax.<\/p>\n
Allsopp, presenter of Channel 4 property shows including Location, Location, Location, said \u201cpeople are in a panic\u201d about potential stamp duty changes, and \u201csitting tight\u201d ahead of the 26 November budget.<\/p>\n
Speaking to MPs on the Treasury committee, she said: \u201cWe have to be very careful not to see buying property as a sin, because at the moment it\u2019s a sin tax. It\u2019s like cigarettes and alcohol and first-class travel.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou are actually punished for wanting to buy a more expensive property than the previous one, and that is wrong \u2026 Everybody tells you that it is an economic positive to encourage people to move house.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Treasury is considering a new tax<\/a> on the sale of homes worth more than \u00a3500,000 as a step towards a radical overhaul of stamp duty and council tax, the Guardian revealed in August.<\/p>\n The Treasury is also reportedly considering changes to capital gains tax relief on main homes (at the higher end), and a \u201cmansion tax\u201d on more expensive properties.<\/p>\n The comments came as Taylor Wimpey<\/a>, one of the UK\u2019s biggest housebuilders, reported a drop in sales in the key autumn period<\/a>, and blamed uncertainty in the run-up to the budget for potential buyers holding back purchases.<\/p>\n