Stamp duty helps government meet target

Government borrowing fell to below £107.7bn in the financial year to April 2014, according to new figures from the Office for National Statistics – lower than the £115.1bn borrowed the previous year. The government met its borrowing target thanks in part to an increase in stamp duty from property sales. Revenues rose by 44.5% to reach £1.1bn in March, with receipts for 2013-14 totalling £12.6bn. John Hawksworth, chief economist of PwC, said the improvement “reflected particularly strong growth in stamp duty as the housing market revived, up 37% on the previous year. There was also solid growth in VAT, income tax receipts and national insurance contributions as the UK economy recovered.” Meanwhile, the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has raised its UK economic growth forecast for the first quarter of the year from 0.9% to 1%. Minutes from the MPC’s latest meeting reveal that growth in the second quarter is “expected to be only a little weaker”. The Committee also voted unanimously to keep interest rates on hold at 0.5%.