The UK?s stamp duty land tax raises substantial revenues for the government, but it also contributes to the UK?s housing crisis by preventing households from moving to more suitable homes. That is the central conclusion of research by Christian Hilber and Teemu Lyytikainen. They explain how replacing stamp duty with better-designed local taxes could help to alleviate the country?s crisis of housing affordability. Their study shows that stamp duty prevents people moving to a more suitable dwelling in their local area, but it has little impact on long-distance relocation. Abolishing stamp duty could increase the mobility of homeowners substantially.

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1 November 2017     Paper Number CEPCP516

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This CentrePiece article is published under the centre's Urban programme.