Osborne announces extension of Help-to-Buy scheme

17th Mar 2014 10:29

Chancellor George Osborne announced on Sunday, during a debate on the BBC One's Andrew Marr show, that the government's Help-to-Buy scheme will be extended to 2020, at a cost of 6bn pounds. The news sent shares of UK homebuilders straight to the top of the leaderboard on Monday morning. Measures to help the housing sector were expected when the Chancellor unveils his 2014 Budget next Wednesday, alongside others to support exports and business investment, IHS Global Insight wrote on March 16th. Worth taking into account as well, figures from The Tax Payers' Alliance claimed that government revenues from stamp duty will see an increase to £15bn in five years' time from £9bn at present, The Times reported. In part, that was expected to be the result of the increased volume of transactions in the housing market, but it was also a function of the absence of inflation indexation in the stamp duty. Hence, as home prices rise more and more home buyers are expected to be forced into the higher 3% tax rate for homes worth over £250,000. Other reports, however, indicate that the main new measure to be announced by the Chancellor will be an increase in the tax free personal allowance for workers, to £10,500 by April 2015 from £10,000 at present. In general, and on the basis of current forecasts, the Chancellor is thought to have precious little room for manoeuvre for additional tax breaks. AB