Will they ever learn?

[Skandi]

An influential Labour Party group is urging the Government to freeze stamp duty for the rest of the year on houses worth up to £1 million as part of a massive economic boost.

A group inside the Labour Party has come up with its own plans for a £20bn economic …

The Progress group - whose members include Cabinet ministers Ed Miliband and Andy Burnham - was also calling for a £1,000 tax credit to home buyers, the BBC said.

Both ideas form part of a £20 billion stimulus for the economy in order to ensure this year is "the bottom of the recession".

The organisation also wants to see capital gains tax cut and the Jobseeker's Allowance raised, it is reported.

Progress vice chairman, former MP Chris Leslie, said the measures would allow the country to return to growth more quickly.

He is quoted as saying: "The ideas we suggest are designed to 'define' 2009 as the bottom of the recession.

"Doing nothing would cost us all dear in the long run. Injecting money into the economy in 2009 will allow the country to return to growth more quickly than if we let the market continue to spiral downwards, which would lead to even greater budget deficits in the longer term.

"We hope that the Chancellor will look seriously at these ideas but we are under no illusions about the difficult task he faces in an era of global recession and international credit dysfunction."

Progress is an independent group made up of Labour Party members and trade unionists, promotes modernising ideas and policies.

These ideas will only help the rich, if your not rich then you can't get a mortgage to buy a house anyway. And why should capital gains tax be held? again only people who already have assets will be helped and that's not the majority of the population. I have an idea, we have a population of 60 million split that 20 billion between everybody equally, (either £33,333 or £33 per person depending which billion the article is using) as it's free money most people would spend it. Hence increasing the money in circulation and shortening the recession. Oh hold on that wouldn't help the rich would it? I knew there would be a problem.

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[Beorn]

The organisation also wants to see capital gains tax cut and the Jobseeker's Allowance raised, it is reported.

Seems to have been done already. I received a letter informing me that my weekly family allowance is now £100 and a few pence.

[SwordoftheVistula]

Those things would actually help get the economy moving again. The main problems are a a stall in the housing market and a decline in the stock market, so freezing stamp duty would make it easier for new homeowners to buy a home, and cutting the capital gains rate would give a boost to the stock market. Not so for increasing the jobseeker's allowance, as that would discourage people from looking for work.

[Skandi]

A reduction in Stamp duty doesn't help buyers, the sellers just pocket the difference, they'll recon that it makes up for having to pay for home information packs. Equally unless the banks lend no one can buy and no one in their right mind wants to as the prices still have a way to fall yet

[Manifest Destiny]

One thing to consider is that the rich are probably more likely than the poor to spend a bit of extra money on luxuries/fun. A poor person might put the money in the bank or pay bills, which doesn't do as much for the economy.

[Gooding]

Common sense itself might dictate that the rich are to be taxed more and that the poor given some sort of tax break.Certain programs such as health care should be nationalized so that the money pouring into insurance companies might be put to better use elsewhere.

[SwordoftheVistula]

Certain programs such as health care should be nationalized so that the money pouring into insurance companies might be put to better use elsewhere.

That hasn't worked too well in the countries that have done it. The current system is a mess, but that's because health benefits are not counted as 'income for tax purposes like all the other benefits are, so it ends up being your employer that contracts through insurance companies, too many levels or bureaucracy and too many degrees of separation between customer (sick person) and supplier (health care provider) for there to be any meaningful control on cost.

[Revenant]

Getting rid of needless surcharges and taxes is a excellent idea no matter the economic climate. Stamp duty is just another revenue raiser used and abused by Govt.

I'm not sure if it's done the same there but here you pay increased council rates depending on property value anyway.

[Skandi]

You do pay more here too, it also depends on area but these are the 2006-7 averages;
A (Less than £40,000) £800
B (£40,000 to £52,000) £1000
C (£52,000 to £68,000) £1200
D (£68,000 to £88,000) £1,234
E (£88,000 to £120,000) £1500
F (£120,000 to £160,000) £1750
G (£160,000 to £320,000) £2000
H (Over £320,000) £2500

The valuation bands are set on the houses price in 1991. As you can see you don't pay much more for an more expencive house at all

[SwordoftheVistula]

Yeah, we have the stamps thing too when you sell it, the property taxes I think are a percentage, set by the local town.