Labour’s controversial proposals under consideration for the reform of property taxation appear to be leaving landlords high and dry – and paying the stamp duty surcharges they already face.

The Guardian has carried leaked stories from Labour about possible reforms to stamp duty. 

They suggest Whitehall officials are exploring plans for a national property tax that could replace stamp duty on owner-occupied homes. One proposal under discussion includes imposing a new tax on properties valued over £500,000, raising fears of a broader shift in how property is taxed across the country.

The potential reforms are seen as part of a wider effort to modernise the current system, which many argue is outdated and inefficient. However, The Guardian specifically says: “It would not replace stamp duty on second homes.”

The newspaper says, in an exclusive: “The policy options are being considered as part of a large tranche of work within the Treasury aimed at tapping into the vast cumulative rise in house prices in recent years that risks entrenching inequalities and making council tax – which is based on early 1990s property values – more unfair.”

The national tax would be paid by owner-occupiers on houses worth more than £500,000 when they sell their home. The amount paid would be determined by the value of the property, with the rate set by central government, which would directly collect the proceeds via HMRC. 

Latest government figures show stamp duty receipts for April to June this year of £4.6 billion. In June alone, buyers paid £1.1 billion, a 15% increase from the £918m paid in May.

Since April this year, buyers had to start paying Stamp Duty on properties purchased over £125,000 – after the nil rate threshold dropped from £250,000 on April 1.