Ed

When I complete the purchase of a property for a client I have to send the stamp duty off to the Inland Revenue within 30 days, else I get clobbered with an automatic fine of £100 on top of the stamp duty.

Today I have completed on five purchases. Busy, because it's just before Christmas. But not exceptionally so, I often have 5 completions on a Friday.

Shrewsbury is not an expensive area, not by any means, not compared with London and the south east. You can buy a typical 1930s 3 bed semi in a good area here for around £220K, and a smaller modern one for around £190K. I've bought a 4 bed detached today for a client on a private estate in a very nice area for £310K.

Thought you might be interested in how much I'm sending to the Government today. Total duty on the five is £26,495. I'm just a small practice. Just think how much bigger firms send in. And then multiply that by the number of towns in the country.

What I want to know is - where does all this money go? Schools and hospitals? - oh it sucks.

Stamp duty is iniquitous, it stinks. There's no justification for it, and it disappears without trace.