stamp duty

Related to stamp duty: Stamp duty land tax

Stamp duty


Stamp Duty

A tax placed on legal documents upon transfer. For example, a stamp duty may be assessed on the deed to a house when it is sold before the deed can pass from the seller to the buyer. The term comes from the fact that governments used to place physical stamps on the legal documents as proof that the duty had been paid, but this practice is fairly uncommon now. Stamp duties are most common in some Commonwealth of Nations countries, such as Singapore and Australia, as well as in some U.S. states.

stamp duty

a UK TAX on the value of SHARES purchased on the STOCK MARKET.

stamp duty

a TAX levied on the purchase of an ASSET, such as a house or stocks and shares, etc., usually as a percentage of the purchase price. Currently (2005), for example, houses in the price range up to £120,000 are exempt from stamp duty; houses valued at between £120,000 and £249,000 incur stamp duty at 1%; between £250,000 and £499,000 the charge is 3%, and for properties over £500,000 stamp duty is levied at 4%. The rate for stocks and shares is 0.5% on the total value of the purchase. Stamp duty is usually used by the government to raise revenue, but occasionally it is used as a tool of FISCAL POLICY to, for example, dampen down the demand for houses.
References in periodicals archive ?
Mr Jones used to carry out legal work for property buyers and, since being elected as an MP had been campaigning to see the cost of Stamp Duty that home buyers pay reduced, to help improve the housing market.
To make the PS9,644 calculation, it also assumed that the home owner would have bought their first property in May 1999, at a typical starter home price for that time of PS58,889, which would have been below the stamp duty threshold.
For the first three years of the next Labour government, we will abolish stamp duty for all first time buyers of homes under PS300,000.
For example, a house at PS200,000 would be taxed at 1% so you would pay PS2,000 stamp duty.
Lucian Cook, Savills UK head of residential research, comments: "It will take time for the effect of the stamp duty changes on prices to become clear, early signs are that the additional cost is predominantly being borne by sellers through price adjustments at a level similar to the extra stamp duty.
The effect of the changes is that anyone buying a property for less than PS937,500 will pay less stamp duty or the same as they would under the old regime.
A report published by the Tax-Payers' Alliance last year estimated that three in 10 homes will have moved up into another stamp duty bracket in five years' time.
The Tory plans would see no levy on any property valued up to PS250,000, if they were in power when the stamp duty land tax is devolved to Wales.
The report said: "In Wales, 2,950 homes were bought with a Stamp Duty rate of 3% or more in 2012-13.
The Stamp Out Stamp Duty campaign is urging the Government to ease the burden on home- buyers.