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Prime Minister Andy Burnham faces his first popularity crisis as he inherits a call to reform council tax and stamp duty backed by tens of thousands of protesters.
The headache comes from a Parliamentary petition started under former PM Keir Starmer that closed after reaching 101,910 signatures.
Burnham’s 10 Downing Street crew had hinted he favours a new property tax based on a percentage of a home’s value to replace council tax and stamp duty - the same aim as the campaigners.
Update, 27 July 2026: Burnham has since ruled out scrapping stamp duty at this year’s Budget, saying “That won’t be happening.” He also said the government is not bringing forward plans “on that scale” at present. This means the reported proposal to replace stamp duty and council tax is not proceeding now, although he did not rule out future changes. Read the Sky News report.
However, outgoing PM Keir Starmer’s government ruled out tax changes for homeowners soon after the petition was launched, publishing a lengthy non-committal response on the petition website.
Support from 100,000 signatories triggers consideration of the petition for a debate by MPs.
Campaign group Fairer Share wants council tax and stamp duty replaced with a proportional property tax.
Under the proposal, homeowners would instead pay an annual charge equivalent to 0.48% of their property’s value. Based on a home worth £300,000, that would amount to £1,440 a year.
Fairer Share states:
“We call on the government to commission a full, independent review of Council Tax and Stamp Duty to deliver the fundamental, evidence-based reform the UK’s housing market urgently needs.
“Council tax arrears have risen to £8.3 billion, with more than two million households struggling to keep up. We believe a tax based on 1990s property values no longer reflects today’s homes or people’s ability to pay - and it fails to provide a stable way to fund essential local services.
“We believe Stamp Duty remains a narrow, one-off tax that distorts the housing market and traps families in unsuitable homes.”
The government responded:
“Council Tax and Stamp Duty are important government revenue sources, raising £60 billion a year to fund essential services. The Government is committed to a fair system and supporting home ownership.
“Council Tax is a settled tax which is understood by taxpayers, and which has a high collection rate (95.9% in 2024-25). As such, the tax base remains broadly stable and the revenues are relatively predictable, which means that local authorities have a degree of certainty in their financial planning. To ensure fairness, the council tax system includes a range of reliefs and exemptions, with 34.3% of all dwellings subject to a discount.
“We want the council tax system to be fair for taxpayers and local authorities and will continue to keep it under review.
“Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) is payable when purchasing a property or land over a certain price in England and Northern Ireland. SDLT continues to be an important source of government revenue, raising around £14 billion each year to help pay for the essential services the Government provides. In addition, it is an efficient tax to administer and collect, as most payments are made on behalf of taxpayers by professional conveyancers as part of the purchase process. The structure of SDLT ensures that those buying the most expensive properties contribute the most.”