FTBs hit by increasing stamp duty

First time buyers (FTBs) are increasingly being hit by stamp duty, with 25 areas accounting for over a quarter of all the tax paid in 2006/07.

Research by Halifax shows that 26 per cent of residential stamp duty was paid in just six per cent of local authorities (LAs) as house prices in these areas continued to soar.

Kensington and Chelsea generated the most stamp duty, with £235 million being paid.

Westminster (£193 million) and Wandsworth (£122 million) followed, while ten LAs saw at least £50 million generated in the tax.

"There were some very steep increases in residential stamp duty revenue at a local level in the last financial year," said Martin Ellis, chief economist at Halifax.

"More than one in seven local authorities saw at least a 50 per cent increase in the amount paid by homebuyers in their area.

"A sharp rise in the number of property sales above the three per cent stamp duty threshold of £250,000 has been a key factor behind this dramatic increase," he continued.

The Conservative shadow chancellor George Osborne recently pledged to double the stamp duty threshold if his party is voted into power.

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