One in five
homes in
England and
Wales is now taxed at three per cent stamp duty, according to research by
Halifax .
"In 2006, 19 per cent of homebuyers paid at least 3 per cent stamp duty, compared with just 6 per cent five years earlier," Halifax said.
The average cost of residential
property in England and Wales was £250,000 or above, which attracts a stamp duty rate of 3 per cent.
"Bracket creep has been a key factor as a growing percentage of property
sales now occur above the higher stamp duty thresholds of £250,000 and £500,000, which have not been changed since their introduction almost ten years ago," said Tim Crawford, group economist at Halifax .
"Nearly a quarter of postcode districts in England and Wales now have an average price above the 3% stamp duty threshold of £250,000, compared to only one in 20 districts five years ago," he added.
"Bank of Scotland calls on the government to increase the stamp duty thresholds in line with the increase in
house prices since the mid-90s and to commit to index linking all the stamp duty thresholds to house price inflation in the future."
