Land Transaction Tax

Part of 3. Topical Questions – in the Senedd at 3:13 pm on 13 December 2017.

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Photo of Mr Simon Thomas Mr Simon Thomas Plaid Cymru 3:13, 13 December 2017

(Translated)

Thank you, Cabinet Secretary, for that response. I appreciate the fact that he published a written statement on Monday regarding these issues, but, as we look at devolved taxes for the first time, I think it’s appropriate that we have an opportunity before Christmas to share good news or bad news with residents the length and breadth of Wales. So, thank you for confirming that 90 per cent of first-time buyers won’t be affected, or, if they are affected, they will be affected in a positive manner by this change.

May I ask you just two specific questions? Have you had an opportunity to profile the funding that will be collected by the Welsh Government as a result of these changes, and are you, therefore, of the view that when we come to vote on the final budget in the new year that you won’t need to make any changes to that budget? Have you also taken the opportunity to model the impact of this change on house prices in Wales? You will recall that the Office for Budget Responsibility stated that introducing the relief for first-time buyers would increase house prices across the UK, or, rather, across England and Wales, and I think that they suggested that that would be an increase of up to 1 per cent in house prices, which puts housing further out of reach for some first-time buyers. As you’re not doing that here, can you model that and the impact that that would have on house prices in Wales and will there be a report by Bangor University looking at these issues in order to update the situation by the time we come to vote on the final budget?