Stamp on Stamp Duty - An online petition

Stamp Duty, what a con.  The more times you move, the more times you pay.  Let's be honest, it is a tax for nothing and should be abolished.  However, realistically, it is never going to be scrapped so perhaps it is time to make some fundamental changes to make it fairer.  The best way to show how unfair it currently is is to give an example.

A buyer wants to purchase a home priced at £250,000.  At current rates they would pay 1% stamp duty - £2,500.  However, if competition for the property pushed the price to £252,500, they would have to pay £7,575.  Thus a 1% increase in the price results in a 203% increase in the tax - madness. 

This tax should reflect the way income tax is charged and only be payable on the actual amount over the threshold.  We have suggested a new structure which reflects, we believe, a much fairer approach, and one that will remove the distortions that are currently experienced at each threshold.  It goes something like this...

• The average house price is now around £200,000, so this should be the starting point.
• 0% for the first £200,000
• 5% for the next £800,000
• And 6% on anything above £1 million

Using this scenario, the tax payable on both a £500,000 and £1 million purchase would be exactly the same as it currently is.  At all other prices below £1m the tax would be less than present levels and above £1 million, which would include commerical properties, it would be more.

So, please sign our petition that we plan to present to the government when we have enough names.  This really will be a strength in numbers exercise, so please encourage everyone you can to sign up. And please only sign it once.