(Bloomberg) — Prime Minister Andy Burnham ruled out any changes to the UK’s stamp duty tax on property purchases in his government’s first budget in the fall, after a press report suggested he was considering the idea.
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The i newspaper reported at the weekend that the government was looking at overhauling the levy as well as council tax and replacing them with either an annual levy based on the value of a property, or a tax based solely on the value of the land. But Burnham on Monday poured cold water on the idea, replying “yes, I can say that quite clearly” when asked if he could reassure homebuyers that he wouldn’t “change or scrap stamp duty in the next budget.”
“That won’t be happening,” Burnham told broadcasters. “It’s just not the case that we are bringing forward plans on that scale at this moment in time.”
Burnham, who only became prime minister a week ago, is trying to stave off potentially months of speculation on what he and Chancellor of the Exchequer John Healey plan to do in their budget in the autumn, especially as rumors about potential changes to stamp duty can have a cooling effect on the UK property market. The tax raises about £17 billion ($23 billion) a year for the exchequer, according to the Office for Budget Responsibility.
The premier said he didn’t know where the story had come from, adding: “It seems that somebody, you know, within I don’t know 100 yards of me can say something, and then all of a sudden it’s my policy, or someone can pass me something, and then I support everything within the document.”
Earlier, Burnham said in a BBC interview aired on Monday that he supported efforts to reform council tax, though he didn’t give specifics.
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