Tom Aldred

Housing made the headlines in yesterday’s Budget, but the announcements on stamp duty will do little to tackle the sector’s underlying problems.  First-time buyers will no longer pay tax on purchases up to £250,000, a move financed by a new 5% rate on homes over £1m.  Politically, this is quite clever, since the rise affects only the top 1% of homes, but accounts for over 10% of the revenue. Read more...