Nine in ten investors would back UK stocks if stamp duty scrapped
Rachel Reeves is facing renewed calls to scrap stamp duty in a bid to boost the City’s market attractiveness on the global stage.
Almost nine in ten UK retail investors said they would hike their investment in the country’s stocks if the levy – often dubbed a ‘shares tax’ – was scrapped, according to fresh research.
A survey of 800 UK retail investors by investment platform Tradu, shared exclusively with Morning Wire, showed more than half of retail investors believe stocks on Wall Street were more favourable than their City counterparts, with lower tax obligations a key reason.
It comes amid reports the Chancellor is mulling a holiday on stamp duty for newly-listed companies as a way to kickstart the market’s IPO pipeline.
The move is expected to be announced at the forthcoming Autumn Budget, resulting in the removal of the 0.5 per cent tax charge on buying shares in companies that have recently joined the London Stock Exchange.
Reeves told go further on stamp duty reforms
But Reeves has faced calls to go further and fully scrap the levy to improve market liquidity.
Brendan Callan, chief executive of Tradu, said: “The reality is that UK investment is in crisis.”
He added: “We need to pull UK investment back from the brink, and that means bold action.
“A proposed three-year ‘stamp duty holiday’ for new listings shows the government recognises that the share tax is a huge barrier. But half measures won’t solve the problem. The quickest way to start turning the tide is to abolish the share tax altogether.”
The calls are echoed across top City voices, with the chief executive of Peel Hunt Steven Fine previously telling Morning Wire the move would help “shift this doomloop of negativity that seems to pervade the country.”
The calls to boost the ailing market come after just £184m was raised on the London Stock Exchange in the first nine months of the year, falling far short of the £17bn raised in 2021.
The figure made 2025 the worst year for listings in more than three decades