Rachel Reeves has been urged to scrap the stamp duty on share trading to revive the flagging stock market.
Figures from HM Revenue and Customs show the tax raised £4.3billion in the 12 months to the end of May – up 34 per cent on the £3.2billion brought in the previous year.
City analysts conceded that the idea of giving up this revenue stream ‘might make the Chancellor wince’ given the parlous state of the public finances. The Government borrowed another £17.7billion last month alone as it spent far more than it earned in taxes.
But experts warned the stamp duty on shares is discouraging investment in UK companies and making London a less attractive place for firms to list.
Investors pay a 0.5 per cent levy on the price of…
