Members of Parliament Claim Stamp Duty on Expenses

The examination of one of the most unpopular Labour’s taxes – stamp duty – revealed that members of parliament avoid the tax of up to £10,000 on their 2nd and 3rd homes by claiming it back on parliamentary expenses. Stamp duty is also being claimed in addition to furnishing and mortgage interest payments for houses that MPs are allowed to keep after leaving the parliament. Let us remind that a handbook of parliamentary allowances rules was published in March; it states that members of parliament are allowed to claim an accommodation allowance for a 2nd home. Moreover, they are also allowed to claim mortgage interest payments, legal fees, stamp duty and furnishings. The newly revealed fact is expected to inflame public’s anger over public funding of MPs private property. One of the MPs who claimed a refund on stamp duty is Kevin Brennan. He claimed £10,200 on a London flat purchased in July 2008 because he was “advised to do so by authorities”. Theresa Villiers also claimed her stamp duty of £10,350 on a London flat within walking distance of the House of Commons. Let us remind that the stamp duty tax was charged at 1% above threshold when the Labours came to power. Gordon Brown increased the rate to 3% and 4% for homes worth £250,000 and £500,000 accordingly. TaxPayers’ Alliance representative says that the increase of taxes seems to have little impact on MPs, while ordinary citizens are struggling with housing costs.