2
Sep
Help first-time buyers through stamp duty, AMI urges
The government should be helping those looking to get on the
housing ladder by revising stamp duty thresholds, the Association
of Mortgage Intermediaries (AMI) has stated.
Speaking prior to an announcement of a one-year suspension of duty
on homes priced under £175,000 by chancellor Alistair Darling,
AMI director general Chris Cummings stated that thresholds have not
kept up with rising house prices, meaning more people are having to
pay the tax.
He said: "If stamp duty had risen with the rate of inflation the
entry level would exclude most first-time buyers as opposed to the
current level of £125,000."
Mr Cummings also called for a review of income support for mortgage
interest.
The Chartered Institute of Housing has also offered its own
recommendations, including a centrally funded and administered
system to assist those having problems paying their
mortgages.
Running this on a national basis would prevent a "postcode lottery"
of people in some areas getting more help than others elsewhere,
the body suggested.
