Government planning temporary stamp duty exemption – reports

Measure to be implemented in autumn budget

The government is set to introduce a temporary exemption on stamp duty for homes at the lower end of the housing market, according to reports.

Rishi Sunak is planning to raise the threshold at which homebuyers start paying stamp duty, according to The Times.

With the current levy set at £125,000, it has been reported that this figure could be increased to as much as £500,000 under new plans to kickstart Britain’s economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.

The measure will be temporary, although the Daily Mail reports that it could be put in place for as long as six months, and is likely to be implemented in the autumn budget.

The chancellor is expected to make a number of announcements in an economic update on Wednesday – the most notable being the expansion of apprenticeships across the UK.

The Treasury is to invest more than £110m in traineeships for 18-24 year olds as Mr Sunak unveils an economic strategy to deal with the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic – which has hit young people in work particularly hard.

Businesses offering new traineeships in England will receive a £1,000 bonus per trainee under the scheme, while eligibility for the schemes is to be expanded to ensure more young people can access high quality training.

The multi-million investment will aim to triple the number of trainees in England – close to 15,000 people took on traineeships in 2018-19 – and also increase the funding providers receive for training.