LABOUR'S STAMP DUTY TAX A RIP OFF FOR SCOTLAND

LABOUR'S STAMP DUTY TAX A RIP OFF FOR SCOTLAND

VIRTUALLY LITTLE BENEFIT FOR SCOTTISH 1st TIME BUYERS

Labour's stamp duty changes in the budget will have little to no effect in Scotland for first-time-buyers and appears designed to help the south of England, according to figures from the Halifax.

SNP MSP Bob Doris, Member of the Communities Committee, says the figures expose another example of the Labour party ripping-off Scottish voters.

Figures from Halifax show that the average first-time-buyers price in Scotland is the lowest in the UK. At £92,815 it is far below the £125,000 threshold, never mind the new £250,000 threshold Alistair Darling announced.

It will mean Scottish first-time-buyers will benefit the least from the increase in stamp duty thresholds - while the south of England will benefit most.

The only places in the UK where the average first-time-buyers' price is above £125,000 is in the southern England regions of Greater London (£214,724); the South East (£163,453) and the South West (£137,769).

Commenting Bob Doris said:

"This shows public funds are once again being used to rip-off people in Scotland.

"These figures show that the average first-time-buyer in the south of England will benefit from the change in stamp duty - but that the average first-time-buyer in Scotland will not.

"Just look at the comparisons.

"Barely a quarter of first-time-buyers in Scotland will even come close to paying just over £125,000. So three quarters of first-time-buyers in Scotland will see no benefit at all.

"Yet in Greater London a huge 95% of first-time-buyers will pay over £125,000 and in the South East the figure is 80%.

"So, over 9 out of 10 London first-time-buyers and 4 out of 5 South East first-time-buyers will benefit from the stamp duty changes - compared to a mere 1 in 4 in Scotland.

"This just shows that Labour and no different from the Tories. Whether its "deeper" cuts than Thatcher or this first-time-buyers con it all adds up to Scotland getting ripped off."