Autumn Budget 2017 Date & Predictions: Stamp duty & pensions could be in Hammond's speech

The speech will likely be at lunchtime after Prime Minister’s questions on a Wednesday.

It is thought stamp duty could be set for a shake-up, alongside key pension changes in the Budget.

Stamp Duty

It is feared that stamp duty is acting as a major deterrent to home movers and putting pressure on the UK housing market.

Stamp duty revenue has hit a record high, but the amount of sales have plunged.

Calls are now growing for the Government to remove stamp duty for older homeowners, which would encourage people to downsize and free up homes for younger families.

Recent research by homebuilder McCarthy & Stone showed pensioners would be more likely to move to smaller homes if they were exempt from stamp duty, freeing up housing and generating activity in the market worth £186million.

Pensions

Pension tax relief could also be under fire from the Chancellor – especially as the Government was forced to maintain the state pension triple lock.

Under the current system, relief is linked to the income tax rate of a saver. It means higher rate tax payers get relief at 40 per cent, while those on the basic rate are given relief at 20 per cent.
It is thought the Government may move to a flat rate of around 33 per cent – a change that would hit middle earners harder.

However, Steven Cameron, pensions director at Aegon, said the Chancellor should promise not to change tax relief until after Brexit, to give savers certainty for the future.

But the Government should consider combining pension and stamp duty policies, according to Mr Cameron.

He said: “Housing policy needs to be better connected to pension policy.

“Reducing stamp duty would encourage pensioners to downsize, freeing up family homes with benefits across the housing market while boosting funds to pay for retirement.”

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