Sajid Javid floats stamp duty shake-up that could see sellers pay
2 min read
Sajid Javid has announced he is looking into a controversial shake up of stamp duty and other supply-side economic policies in his first interview since being appointed as Chancellor.
Speaking to The Times, Mr Javid outlined plans to charge stamp duty to those selling houses as opposed to house buyers, in a move aimed at helping first-time buyers.
Discussing the policy, the Chancellor said: “I’m looking at various options. I’m a low-tax guy. I want to see simpler taxes”.
However, the move could also see a reduction in homeowners downsizing to smaller properties if there was an increased tax burden to doing so.
Javid also refused to rule out a further cut to the top rate of income tax, saying “Wait and see for the budget...but it wouldn’t be any surprise that I think taxes should be efficient.
"We want to set them at a rate where we are trying to maximise revenue, and that doesn’t always mean that you have the highest tax rate possible. Generally I want to see lower taxes, but at a level that is going to pay for the public services."
Mr Javid has previously pointed out that former Chancellor George Osborne’s 2013 higher rate tax cut leading to an overall increase in tax receipts for the Treasury.
Elsewhere in his interview, Mr Javid endorsed MrOsborne for the vacant position of chairperson of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
He said of his former boss: "I think that George would make an excellent, absolutely superb head of the IMF. As you’ll know, these processes are never straightforward. But there’s still some time to play out."
While Mr Javid was keen to stress that the Treasury would fund the Prime Minister's publicic spending pledge, he said he would not be writing Mr Johnson’s “every cheque”, as he hinted that spending priorities in the coming months would reflect “people’s priorities” of crime, health and schools.
The interview comes as Mr Javid announced a release of £600m for housing infrastructure funding for London and the South East.
The Chancellor is also to be keen to oversee a shake-up of supply-side policies, with changes to competition policy and planning law, tax breaks for research and development and further deregulation all mooted.
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