Stamp duty relief for Jersey first-time buyers will rise

Image caption, Senator Ozouf said it was important to encourage first-time buyers into the market

The States of Jersey has unanimously agreed to raise the ceiling on the amount of tax relief first-time buyers get in Jersey.

First-time buyers currently get relief on stamp duty and land transactions tax for homes costing up to 拢400,000.

But in an amendment to his 2012 budget, the treasury minister said he wanted to increase the ceiling to 拢450,000.

Senator Philip Ozouf said the increase should be a temporary one for 12 months from 1 December 2011.

In the proposal, the minister said the most recent figures showed the average price paid for a house in Jersey by a first-time buyer was 拢431,000.

The minister said: "It is important that we do all we can to encourage first-time buyers into the market."

He said Jersey's housing market had seen a 25% reduction in the annual number of transactions in the last three years.

Senator Ozouf said: "This has had a knock-on effect on the broader economy, affecting estate agents, lawyers, removal firms and trades people."