Struggling homebuyers were given no relief by the Chancellor who failed to increase stamp duty thresholds in the budget 2008, although there will be some help for those in shared ownership schemes.
The Chancellor announced that buyers who purchase 80 per cent of the value of their home through one of the government’s shared ownership schemes will not pay stamp duty land tax.
While mortgage experts initially welcomed the move, it has been described as “confusing”, because it is unclear how this would actually work in practice.
For example, when the buyer wants to buy the remaining part of the property, do they pay it on the price of the property when they initially bought it or at its current value? And if the house prices increases and the equity naturally increases, what happens then – will they then have to pay this tax bill?”