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If you've got £1m+ to drop, it seems a little petty to moan about the 4.4% purchasing tax.
Edit: and as someone who recently had to pay a large (not that ^ large admittedly) chunk of stamp duty, it seems to me to be a reasonable way to raise revenue.
Dramatic_Hammer-
But it's a one off cost on each move; it doesn't have any capital value after spending it but it prevents people moving e.g. to downsize or because they can otherwise afford to upgrade.
Imo an annual roperty tax would be a better way to tax real estate - it wouldn't dissuade people from moving and would also have a chance at capturing the value obtained by people sitting on appreciated assets. Rather than loading the cost onto the purchaser (who is already going to be the one funding any capital gain made by people who've seen their properties increase in value).
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If you've got £1m+ to drop
Not in old Saino's bags under the bed I don't, I'd need a mortgage and the £43k for Stamp Duty puts a fairly big hole in the deposit that I'd have.
I don't know what my flat would sell for in the deflating market of the moment, but let's say I exit with 300k - that means stamp duty and fees takes that down to £250k.
This puts me right on the edge of the LTV boundary for most mortgages, rather than having a margin.
Also, having just checked - HSBC will only lend me £712,500, so I'm overstating my purchasing power - which probably is a first world problem.
andyfallsoff
Dammit
Well, yes - this is the owning your own home in a first world country (mainly) thread.