Resolution Foundation finds Londoners pay £3.1bn a year less in property tax than their homes' values imply

The Resolution Foundation's Home Economics report, published on 24 September 2026, calculates that London households paid £3.1bn less in council tax and stamp duty in 2024-25 than a value-based system would charge, with around 80% of London households benefiting and 85% of North East households projected to overpay. The gap stems from council tax bands in England still resting on 1991 valuations while prices have risen much faster in London than in the North East, and the think tank estimates that stamp duty prevents around 100,000 home purchases a year. For buyers and sellers, the report adds weight to calls to abolish stamp duty on main homes and replace it with a flat 0.7% annual levy on property value, which would cut the upfront cost of moving but shift more of the yearly bill onto higher-value homes. This is a think-tank proposal, not government policy, and nothing changes for anyone moving this autumn.