Govt mulls over stamp duty suspension Published: 06/08/2008

The Chancellor of the exchequer has hinted at plans to suspend stamp duty on purchases in order to revive the flagging housing market.

Speaking to the BBC's Today programme on Tuesday, Alistair Darling suggested the hiatus was one of the plans the government was looking at to reduce the financial burden on those looking for property to buy – particularly those taking their first steps onto the housing ladder.

Mr Darling said: "I am looking at a number of measures and I am not going to be drawn on that today because we have not concluded what exactly we need to do.

"It is helping people that is important. I want to look at a range of options that will help people."

The Sun newspaper reported that the government is planning the suspension as the property market is facing its starkest decreases since 1991.

Property buyers currently pay one per cent stamp duty on properties costing between £125,000 and £250,000.

This rises to three per cent on properties priced at between £250,001 and £500,000 and four per cent to houses costing more than £500,000.

Cutting this stamp duty could encourage more people to buy property and therefore kickstart the market.

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