The effect of the UK stamp duty land tax on household mobility

Hilber, Christian A. L. and Lyytikainen, Teemu (2012) The effect of the UK stamp duty land tax on household mobility. SERC Discussion Papers (SERCDP0115). Spatial Economics Research Centre (SERC), London School of Economics and Political Science, London, UK.

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Abstract

We estimate the effect of the UK Stamp Duty Land Tax on household mobility using micro data. Exploiting a discontinuity in the tax schedule as a quasi-experimental setting, we isolate the impact of the stamp duty from other determinants of mobility. Our empirical strategy essentially compares similar households with self-assessed house values on either sides of a cut-off value where the tax rate increases from 1 to 3 percent. We find that a higher stamp duty strongly negatively affects a household’s propensity to move: the 2 percentage-point increase in the stamp duty may reduce mobility of homeowners by around 40 percent. This adverse effect is mainly confined to short-distance and non-job related moves.

Item Type:	Monograph (Discussion Paper)
Official URL:	http://www.spatialeconomics.ac.uk/
Additional Information:	© 2012 The Authors
Divisions:	Geography & Environment Spatial Economics Research Centre
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HC Economic History and Conditions
JEL classification:	D - Microeconomics > D2 - Production and Organizations > D23 - Organizational Behavior; Transaction Costs; Property Rights H - Public Economics > H2 - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue > H21 - Efficiency; Optimal Taxation H - Public Economics > H2 - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue > H27 - Other Sources of Revenue J - Labor and Demographic Economics > J6 - Mobility, Unemployment, and Vacancies > J61 - Geographic Labor Mobility; Immigrant Workers R - Urban, Rural, and Regional Economics > R2 - Household Analysis > R21 - Housing Demand R - Urban, Rural, and Regional Economics > R3 - Production Analysis and Firm Location > R38 - Government Policies; Regulatory Policies
Date Deposited:	31 Jul 2014 15:47
Last Modified:	08 May 2024 22:10
Funders:	Economic and Social Research Council, Department for Business, Innovation & Skills (BIS), Welsh Assembly Government
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/58605

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