New figures released by the Halifax reveals that, the cost of stamp duty has risen nine-fold over the last ten years.

Despite soaring house prices, the lowest threshold (£60,000) for paying tax on a property purchase, has not been raised since 1993. As a result, the government is expected to take in over £4 billion in stamp duty this financial year, compared to £465 million in 1993-4.

Halifax says that in 1993, buyers paid an average of around £45,000 for their first homes, compared with an average of £131,000 today. The Halifax also claims that if the Government had increased the £60,000 threshold in line with house price inflation since 1993, it would stand at £156,900, which would prevent many first-time buyers having to pay stamp duty.

"Housing activity is an important part of the UK economy, and it is right that a government should take its fair share of tax revenue from it," said Halifax chief economist Martin Ellis. "Fairness is a two-way street, however, and unfortunately successive governments, irrespective of their political colouring, have failed to play fair by homeowners by declining to index link the stamp duty threshold to house price increases," he added.