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‘Disappointing’ stamp duty holiday decision forces Welsh govt to lengthen LTT relief
The Welsh government has criticised Westminster for not informing them of the stamp duty holiday extension before the Budget announcement, which forced them to extend their own property tax relief.
The temporary land transaction tax (LTT) relief in Wales was extended until 30 June to align with the additional time added to the stamp duty holiday.
During the Budget, chancellor Rishi Sunak announced a continuation of the nil rate band on properties up to the value of £500,000 until June before lowering the threshold to £250,000 until 1 October to “smooth the transition”.
This now means that in Wales, no tax will be payable on any residential properties purchased up to a value of £250,000 for the next three months.
Both levies were waived in July last year and were originally set to end on 31 March. However, delays across the housing market meant buyers in England who did not plan on paying the tax risked missing the deadline and having to pay extra to move or pull out of a purchase.
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Rebecca Evans (pictured), minister for finance, said it was “disappointing” that the Welsh government was not informed of the decision as it also affected the Welsh property market.
She said: “The UK government’s decision to provide an extension to its temporary increase to the stamp duty land tax starting threshold may, as in July, also have an impact on the property market in Wales, especially in the Wales-England border areas.
“It is important to ensure that distortions to the property market are not exacerbated by decisions in Westminster.”
Evans added: “It is disappointing that – yet again – the UK government did not work with us in advance to collaborate and join up our tax policy decisions to ensure that we could examine the data and evidence to support our choices.”