Budget ‘tormented buyers’
The Budget was the perfect opportunity for the chancellor to help out thousands of first-time buyers (FTBs) - but it was missed, according to a consumer finance company.
The Motley Fool criticised chancellor Gordon Brown for failing to renege on stamp duty - one of the most hated taxes in the UK, a study from the company found.
David Kuo, head of personal finance for the organisation, added that Chancellor Brown's zero stamp duty rate on zero carbon homes below £500,000 was pointless - the properties are "as rare as hen's teeth".
"Whilst it is admirable that the chancellor's day-dreams of energy-efficient homes in the future, many first-time buyers are caught in a living nightmare of never being able to buy their homes," he said.
Mr Brown's 11th and final Budget also saw him double vehicle excise duty for highly-pollutant vehicles over the next two years.
By 2009, the road tax paid by the drivers of less carbon-efficient vehicles will be £400.
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