Brown 'must raise levels on house taxes'

Gordon Brown today faced calls to raise thresholds for inheritance tax and stamp duty which are raking in billions for the Treasury.

The Chancellor took a record £6.7 billion in higher rates of stamp duty and inheritance tax last year, new research reveals today.

Halifax said the amount the Government collected through stamp duty on properties valued above £250,000 has soared by 175 per cent in the past five years.

Londoners in particular have been hit with higher stamp duty bills when moving homes as house prices in the capital have risen so sharply.

Government coffers were boosted by £3.4 billion from the higher rates of stamp duty in the last financial year, compared with £1.2 billion in 2000/01.

Martin Ellis, chief economist at Halifax, said: "Smaller inheritances, reliant mainly on the family home, are more likely to attract a 40 per cent rate of inheritance tax than five years ago, while stamp duty bills of more than £7,500 are becoming more common."

Ahead of the pre-Budget report tomorrow, Halifax called on the Government to raise the stamp duty and the inheritance tax thresholds in line with house price increases over the past decade.

The Chancellor is also seeing a rise in revenue from inheritance tax.

The take from this levy hit a record £2.1 billion in the first seven months of financial year 2006/07, up nine per cent on 2005/06.