The First Minister of Wales, Carwyn Jones, has stressed the importance of devolving stamp duty to Wales to boost the housing market and support the hard-pressed construction sector.

The Silk Commission recommended that a range of financial powers should be devolved to the Welsh Government in the next few years - including full devolution of Stamp Duty. The UK Government is due to make its response to the Silk Commission imminently.

The First Minister said: "We know the Welsh construction sector is facing difficult times and we are doing everything we can to continue to support them through our capital investments, but we want to do more. It is widely recognised that stamp duty is a poorly designed tax which distorts the housing market and therefore causes problems for the construction industry and for house buyers. By devolving stamp duty to Wales we will have a real opportunity to reform the tax and make it simpler, fairer and more efficient.


"Finance Minister Jane Hutt met with representatives from the construction sector recently to get their views on how we could use stamp duty to best effect. We now want to get on and put our plans into practice to boost jobs and growth.

"The UK Government said they would respond to Silk in the spring. Spring is now turning into summer and we are still waiting for a response. Swift and positive action from the UK Government will enable us to put our plans for reform into practice and to start delivering a better tax system for both house builders and house buyers in Wales."

(CD/MH)