July 09, 2020 - 1640 views
Clwyd-West Member of the Senedd, Darren Millar has called on the Welsh Government to follow the UK Government’s lead by introducing a Land Transaction Tax (LTT) holiday to reinvigorate the housing market following months at a standstill during lockdown.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak said yesterday that the stamp duty threshold will increase in England from £125,000 to £500,000 until March next year to boost activity after the coronavirus lockdown, and Darren has today called for similar action in Wales.
Speaking in the Welsh Parliament he urged the Welsh Government to provide a statement on the matter “as soon as possible.”
He said: “We need to get the property market moving again here in Wales as soon as possible. It's a good indicator of economic health and I would therefore be grateful to know whether the Welsh Government plans to also introduce a holiday for Land Transaction Tax (formerly known as Stamp Duty) in order to help the property market bounce back here.”
In her response the Minister for Finance and Trefnydd, Rebecca Evans MS, indicated that she will outline her response to the announcements made by the Chancellor when she has had the opportunity to consider them over the next few days.
Speaking outside the meeting, Darren said: “Families throughout Wales deserves to have the same breaks as those across the border in England. It would be grossly unfair for the Welsh Government not to take similar action here.
“House buyers in Wales are already disadvantaged by the Land Transaction Tax, which is substantially higher than the tax paid by house buyers in England and Scotland.”
