RESEARCH from the Halifax shows that tax revenue raised from stamp duty on residential property and inheritance tax attributable to housing wealth is estimated to have risen almost five-fold from £735 million in 1992/93 to £3,638 million in 2001/02.

This increase has been driven by the failure of successive governments to raise tax thresholds in line with house price inflation.

Halifax also calculates that the stamp duty threshold (currently £60,000) would be raised to £118,500 if it were increased in line with the rise in house prices since March 1993 - the last time that the threshold was increased.

The inheritance tax threshold would be raised to £296,300 - some £46,300 higher than its current level (£250,000).

The main findings of the research are:

Stamp Duty

• Total revenues to the Government from residential stamp duty have increased almost ten-fold since 1992/93, from £280 million to £2,760 million in 2001/02.

• The average UK first-time buyer in 2002 Quarter 3 paid £97,207 to buy their home compared to £45,249 in 1993. Based on the current stamp duty regime, the typical first-time buyer now has to pay £972.

• In 2001, two-thirds (66 per cent) of all buyers were liable for stamp duty compared with just over one-third (36 per cent) in 1993.

• Eight per cent of purchasers were liable for the higher rates of stamp duty applicable on properties bought for over £250,000 in 2001. I

• The average first-time buyer in ten of the 12 UK regions now pays stamp duty.