Often when a property is very expensive the property is held in a single asset company (this is Stamp Duty saving).
This means that the taxpayer misses out on a windfall of stamp duty from all the expensive properties sold.
Is this fair?
Some stamp duty avoidance schemes are doomed to fail and for less expensive properties take independent legal advice if you are offered a way of not paying it.
You can reduce the amount you pay by sticking under the limits. Up to £125,000 it’s zero percent, and for a limited time it’s zero for first time buyers up to £250k.
There’s an article about single asset property companies here on accounting web