The taxman has faced the biggest fall in stamp duty takings since the financial crisis following George Osborne’s tax raid on £1million homes. But it was also triggered by an 8 per cent fall in transactions over £1million. The biggest fall was in London, with the amount collected dropping £315million to £4.55billion. Estate agents have called for a reverse to the stamp duty hikes on more expensive properties. However, a Treasury spokesman said: ‘Our priority is to support first time buyers, and over 340,000 households have now benefited from our first time buyers’ relief, saving around £2,360 on average.’

Source: Daily Mail October 01, 2019 22:18 UTC