UK 3.8 Billion Pound Tax Break To Housing

Britain will suspend purchase taxes for homes costing up to 500,000 pounds until the end of March next year in a bid to jump-start the housing market after the coronavirus lockdown, finance minister Rishi Sunak said. The tax break will cost 3.8 billion pounds ($4.8 billion) and apply to homes in England and Northern Ireland, making it one of the costliest measures among 30 billion pounds of extra stimulus. Britain's housing market ground to a halt in April and May as potential buyers were generally unable to visit homes due to lockdown restrictions, and the Bank of England reported that lenders approved a record-low number of new mortgages. However, the impact on prices has been much more limited - with figures from mortgage lender Halifax showing just a 0.9% drop in the three months to June - and estate agents had already reported a sharp pick-up in demand before the tax cut. The benefit will also be concentrated in London, where prices are highest. Property website Rightmove estimated the average buyer there would pay 15,000 pounds less tax, compared with a saving of just 646 pounds in northeast England.