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Javid rules out stamp duty shift

Chancellor Sajid Javid has rubbished reports he is planning a stamp duty overhaul in his first Budget this autumn.

House buyers in England and Northern Ireland currently pay stamp duty land tax at various percentages on property purchases that cost more than £125,000.

Media reports suggested that the Treasury was exploring radical options to shift the burden of paying the property tax from house buyer to house seller.

But Javid, who succeeded Philip Hammond as chancellor in July 2019, moved quickly to dismiss that speculation on Twitter.

Javid said:

"To be clear, I never said to The Times I was planning to put it [stamp duty land tax] on sellers, and I wouldn't support that.

"I know from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government that we need bold measures on housing - but this isn't one of them."

The new chancellor has not decided whether to hold Budget 2019 before 31 October, when the UK is expected to leave the EU.

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