13
Mar
First-time buyers 'deserved more from the Budget'
Although this week's Budget provided some schemes that could be
beneficial to first-time buyers, it did not go far enough to help
this struggling group, it has been claimed.
Duncan Samuel, managing director of convex.net, said Chancellor
Alistair Darling had the option to help "all first-time buyers" but
instead introduced measures that will only help some.
Mr Darling announced yesterday (March 12th) that stamp duty would
be abolished on shared ownership homes until the occupant owns 80
per cent of the equity.
Commenting on the proposal, Mr Samuel said that "those in shared
ownership will always have the stamp duty bill hanging over
them".
Abbey has also criticised the Budget for not addressing the needs
of those who want to get on the housing ladder.
The bank suggested that instead of a "slab taxation system", it
would be better to make stamp duty incremental, so that it
functions more like income tax.
