The National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) is disappointed that the Chancellor did not take the opportunity to amend stamp duty levels in his pre-Budget report today, despite the government now taking around £4 billion each year from residential stamp duty.

Peter Bolton King, Chief Executive of the NAEA, comments: "House prices have risen by around 150% since the £60,000 threshold for stamp duty was set over a decade ago meaning that practically every homebuyer is now liable for higher levels of this tax. Stamp duty was never meant to be an all-encompassing property tax. But with the Chancellors refusal to adjust the scale, one cant help wondering whether he is beginning to look on it as a contribution to the shortage in his spending: home buyers should not be forced to pay for the Chancellors errors in his budgeting".