<p><span>Stamp duty cuts will remain until March 31 2025, chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced today (November 17).</span></p> <p><span>Delivering the government’s Autumn Statement, the chancellor stated that the Office for Budget Responsibility [OBR) expected housing activity to slow over the next two years. The stamp duty cuts, announced in September’s mini-Budget, would remain in place but only until March 2025.</span></p> <p><span>“After that, I will sunset the measure, creating an incentive to support the housing market and all the jobs associated with it by boosting transactions during the period the economy most needs it,” the chancellor said. </span></p> <p><span>The stamp duty changes, which became effective in September, included a raise of the threshold for stamp duty payments on properties from £125,000 to £250,000. Then-chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng announced them as “permanent”. But his budget of heavy tax cuts prompted financial turmoil, leading to his eventual sacking. </span></p><p><span>Hunt, his successor, reversed many of the announced cuts in October before preparing today’s Autumn Statement, involving tax rises and spending cuts in response to a challenging economic climate.</span></p> <p><span>In his statement, Hunt also announced a 15% reduction in "final" energy consumption from buildings and industry by 2030. The government would also proceed with round two of the …