It's time to stamp out this tax

1:14pm Friday 8th August 2008

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THEY say that the three most stressful life events are the death of a loved one, moving house and divorce. It is therefore staggering that those of our lords and masters who lurk within the musty confines of the treasury see fit to use two of those events as opportunities to tax us.

When you move home, there are lawyers, estate agents, removal men, surveyors and the Land Registry already jostling for your precious dosh; but at least they all do something that assists you in achieving your objective of selling your current home and acquiring another one.

But why does the exchequer have to make the process even more expensive by collecting stamp duty from you, for doing nothing more than stamping your conveyance with the proof that you have given them several thousand pounds, at a time when you desperately need every penny?

Wouldn't we all rather they averaged whatever gross amount they extract by this method over our working lives by some other more equitable form of taxation?

The Chancellor's reported current consideration of a stamp duty hiatus to breathe some life back into the stagnant property market serves only to highlight the tax em while they're struggling' nature of this revenue-gathering exercise, which has gradually dragged more and more home owners into its maw as the value of homes soars.

And death duties? Did they think we would all be so grief stricken at the loss of our loved ones that we wouldn't notice that the state is helping itself to a substantial slice of the estate?

There is the recent patently iniquitous case of the two elderly sisters in Wiltshire who unsuccessfully attempted to challenge the current situation, whereby when one of them dies the other will be obliged to sell the jointly-owned house where they have always lived in order to pay the death duties levied on the value of their home.

If ever there were a case to defer, at least, the rapacity of the revenue gatherers, this is surely it?

But no; the pound of flesh has to be extracted!

I am amazed they haven't penalised divorcing couples too!

At least, arguably, that might give pause to those who could perhaps effect some kind of reconciliation!

Or is this untypical reticence due to the fact that one of them will be buying a house, perhaps?

And paying stamp duty! Much easier to collect.