ESTATE agents in Bridgwater have welcomed changes in stamp duty, saying these will make homes more affordable as people will be paying less tax.

George Osborne claimed in his Autumn Statement that stamp duty will be cut for 98 per cent of homebuyers who currently pay it – which works out as a tax cut of £4,500 when buying a £275,000 family home.

The new measure, which will came into force on December 4, will see nothing paid on the first £125,000 of a property’s value, followed by 2% on the next £125,000 of a property’s value, then 5% on the next £675,000 of a property’s value, followed by 10% on the next £575,000 of a property’s value.

Any properties over this amount will pay 12 % on the remaining value.

Marc Richards, from Gibbins Richards in High Street, said: “It’s good news for estate agents and home buyers and everybody.

“At certain price levels it means homes are a lot more affordable as people will be will paying less tax.

“Also under the old scheme prices were being artificially depressed as people would factor in the stamp duty.

For instance homes selling for £260,000 would incur £5,000 in stamp duty. I’m delighted with the changes.”

Paul Hale from CJ Hole, in Burnham, agreed it was great news, saying it would give buyers and sellers more confidence in the market.

He added: “It’s very positive especially for first time buyers for houses on the market between £125,000 to £180,000 people will be paying a proportion of stamp duty and saving themselves a lot of money.”

The new stamp duty bands are 0% up to £125k; 2% up to £250k; 5% up to £925k; 10% up to £1.5m; 12% above.

Under the old regime, anyone buying a house for £185,000 – the average paid by people using the government’s help to buy scheme – or less would have paid one per cent on the full amount – or £1,850.

The new regime will see the same home buying paying nothing on the first £125,000 and 2 per cent on the remaining £60,000, which works out at £1,200.

National Farmers’ Union director of policy Andrew Clark said: “It is disappointing that the changes to Stamp Duty Land Tax relate to residential property only.”

  • Fuel duty to be frozen and an immediate reduction in oil industry supplementary charge from 32% to 30%.
  • Businesses on the high street will see their £1,000 business rate discount increase by half to £1,500. A wider review of business rates was also promised in the future.
  • A significant increase in the amount of research and development tax relief that small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) receive, which now stands at 230%.

Rob Chedzoy, Tax Partner at Milsted Langdon, which has offices in Somerset, said: “SMEs have been behind the economy’s growth for a long time and at last the Government seems to have recognised this and rewarded them with a raft of measures aimed at helping them.

“It is unlikely that the UK would be leading Western economies in growth if it weren’t for these dedicated firms, many of whom are our clients.” Molly Scott Cato, Green MEP for South West, criticised the chancellor for not getting tough enough on corporate tax avoidance which she says is crucial for the economy.

She said: “The recent ‘LuxLeaks’ scam has revealed the huge extent of tax avoidance in Europe and it is depriving governments of the revenue they need to invest in the infrastructure of a civilised society.

“The Government must treat white-collar crime as seriously as other crime by enforcing its own General Anti-Abuse Rule.

“To do this it is essential there are as many government employees investigating tax avoidance as there are accountants employed by the Big Four accounting firms helping corporations avoid paying their fair share.”