A prominent Tory MP who chairs the Conservative backbench Treasury Committee and is also a member of the Treasury Select Committee, is calling for stamp duty increases for landlords and second home buyers so  the rest of home buyers become exempt from having to pay the tax.

Writing on the Conservative Home website Anthony Browne MP says stamp duty for the majority of the housing market is a tax on transaction which is responsible for reducing mobility across the country, slowing down and inhibiting homeowners from moving up the property ladder.

He writes: “Making moving house expensive means that millions of people live in inappropriate housing – either too big or small, or in the wrong place – not least the empty-nesters, who don’t want to pay thousands in tax in order to downsize. People don’t take jobs in other parts of the country because they can’t afford to move, so making the labour market less efficient.”

However scrapping the tax burden for home buyers should not apply to landlords and second home buyers as he says: “Last year, of the £10 billion residential raised by residential stamp duty, nearly half (£4.6bn) came from property transactions incurring the higher rate. This rate could be increased further, and flat rated, with the revenues being used to cut stamp duty for people buying homes to live in.”

He continued: “In some parts of the country, second homeownership is so rampant that it causes massive damage to local economies and communities. Stamp duty should be a flat rate whatever the value of the property if people are buying it for any reason other than to live in.”

At the same time as Browne’s piece appeared on the Conservative Home website, it was revealed a record breaking Stamp duty total of £16.2 billion was paid into HMRC’s coffers last year, 23 per cent higher than 2021.

A building society’s analysis of HMRC data shows that 2022 included eight of the top ten highest months ever recorded for stamp duty returns.

A spokesperson for the building society, says: “Last year people paid more tax buying their homes than ever before. The new thresholds introduced in September mean homebuyers will get a bit of welcome relief for the next couple of years, but a long-term plan needs to be established.

“The Chancellor has already hinted that it’s going to be a bland budget this Spring, with no tax cuts expected to be announced, but discussions around stamp duty shouldn’t be taken off the table. We’ve already seen that the fairly blunt instrument of a stamp duty holiday in 2020 and 2021 didn’t stifle tax revenues. Taking a creative approach to stamp duty reform, with incentives for energy efficient home improvements, for example, could create better outcomes for everyone.