MPs debate stamp duty holiday and the possibility of a new extension

The government must act on the matter before the deadline arrives.

Both Labor and Conservative MPs have backed calls to remove the cliff-edge deadline for the stamp duty holiday.

While some MPs called for a full extension of the holiday, most suggested concessions for those with ongoing transactions.

Yesterday there was a 70-minute debate in a virtual House of Commons on the issue, following an electronic petition calling for a six-month extension to the stamp duty holiday, which has accumulated around 140,000 signatures.

Labor MP Barbara Keeley said: “I am asking the government to act to ensure that people who have pledged to buy a home with the reasonable expectation that they would not have to pay stamp duty are not affected by an additional fee.”

“There are options. It does not need to be an indefinite extension of the business holiday, but it could be retrospective, to allow anyone who has already accepted an offer to be exempt from stamp duty, even if they cannot complete it before March 31.”

She spoke about how no one could have seen the closings closed and restrictions when the stamp duty holiday was first announced, making it unfair for people to miss out on this tax break potentially.

Conservative MP Greg Smith said: “It is essential that the government intervene so that this holiday counts for those who are already involved in transactions, but for whom the delays may push them beyond March 31.”

The stamp duty holiday could be extended again.

Smith also attacked the stamp duty holiday as a whole, saying it discourages housing transactions and limits people’s home buying aspirations. Therefore, he asked for a review.

Meanwhile, Conservative MP Elliot Colburn said: “If a permanent change to the stamp duty is not in the Treasury’s perspective, especially during the time of the pandemic, then I would say that a gradual and gradual liquidation of the relief would probably be the preferable option.”

The strategy on ending the stamp duty holiday is likely to be announced with the budget on March 3, 2021.

Liberal Democrat MP Sarah Olney appeared very hostile toward the stamp duty holiday and the tax break’s possible extension. However, she agreed that the Treasury should “make concessions” to ongoing transactions.

Abena Oppong-Asare, a Labor MP, also criticized the holiday as a short-term policy while expressing concern that an extension could cause another chasm.

Other MPs generally called for a slowdown in politics.

Kevin Hollinrake MP suggested that individuals who have received a mortgage offer should receive an extension by the end of February.

And like other Conservative MPs, he called for broader property tax reform. In his opinion, the stamp duty should be abolished and replaced by a new proportional property tax.

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