Londoners contribute 27% of UK stamp duty revenues

Halifax has published new research based on data from HM Revenue & Customs, showing that during 2006/07, 26% of total residential stamp duty was paid by homebuyers living in just 6% of local authorities (LAs).

London homebuyers paid 27% of total UK stamp duty revenues, at £1.7 billion; in the South East revenue stood at £1.4 billion and the South West £1.0 billion.

Taking the London boroughs, residents of Kensington & Chelsea paid £235 million; Westminster £193 million and Wandsworth £122 million.

Across the UK, ten LAs generated revenue of at least £50 million; nine of these were in London; the tenth was Elmbridge in Surrey.

Beyond the South-East England, Edinburgh, Leeds, Bristol and Birmingham were among the 25 LAs where house purchasers paid the most stamp duty.

Twenty-four LAs recorded at least a 100% increase in the amount of stamp duty raised in their area between 2005/06 and 2006/07.

Twenty-two of these are in Northern Ireland, where property inflation has been high in the past two years. In Limavady, stamp duty revenues increased 289% during 2006/07.

The Isles of Scilly (270%) and Ashfield in Nottinghamshire (121%) were the only areas outside Northern Ireland to record more than a doubling in stamp duty revenues last year.

Stamp duty revenue is raised at 3% on sales between £250,001 and £500,000 and 4% above £500,001.

In 2006/07 revenue raised from the higher band accounted for 79% of all residential stamp duty, at £5.1 billion.

In 2001/02, the higher stamp duty bands contributed 61% of total residential stamp duty revenue.

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