By Daniel Hunter

The TaxPayers' Alliance (TPA) has published new research which exposes the punitive amounts paid in Stamp Duty each year, as it launches a campaign calling for a cut in the hated tax on buying a family home.

While home-buyers in London and the South East are hardest hit, more people across the country are being hit by Stamp Duty at the 3 per cent rate, which acts as a barrier both for an increasing number of first-time buyers, as well as many hard-working families wanting to buy a new home. Families buying a home for between £250,000 and £500,000 pay between £7,500 and £15,000 in Stamp Duty.

Under the banner of "Stamp Out Stamp Duty", the campaign website enables people to find out how their area is affected and quickly send a customised message direct to their local MP, urging them to support a cut.

Key Facts:

- In 2012-13, over £4 billion was paid by home-buyers in residential Stamp Duty, of which £3.6 billion was paid at a rate of 3 per cent or more.

- 723,829 homes were bought in 2012-13, with more than a quarter (182,692) being liable for Stamp Duty at a rate of 3 per cent or more.

- In the North East, 2,021 homes were bought with a Stamp Duty rate of 3 per cent or more in 2012-13. This was 6 per cent of all of the transactions in the region. These transactions made up 64 per cent of total Stamp Duty revenues in the region.

- In Yorkshire and the Humber, 6,024 homes were bought with a Stamp Duty rate of 3 per cent or more in 2012-13. This was 9 per cent of all of the transactions in the region. These transactions made up 70 per cent of total Stamp Duty revenues in the region.

- In the North West, 7,571 homes were bought with a Stamp Duty rate of 3 per cent or more in 2012-13. This was 9 per cent of all of the transactions in the region. These transactions made up 72 per cent of total Stamp Duty revenues in the region.

- In the East Midlands, 6,020 homes were bought with a Stamp Duty rate of 3 per cent or more in 2012-13. This was 10 per cent of all of the transactions in the region. These transactions made up 69 per cent of total Stamp Duty revenues in the region.

- In the West Midlands, 7,904 homes were bought with a Stamp Duty rate of 3 per cent or more in 2012-13. This was 12 per cent of all of the transactions in the region. These transactions made up 73 per cent of total Stamp Duty revenues in the region.

- In Wales, 2,950 homes were bought with a Stamp Duty rate of 3 per cent or more in 2012-13. This was 8 per cent of all of the transactions in the region. These transactions made up 64 per cent of total Stamp Duty revenues in the region.

- In London, 60,329 homes were bought with a Stamp Duty rate of 3 per cent or more in 2012-13. This was 65 per cent of all of the transactions in the region. These transactions made up 97 per cent of total Stamp Duty revenues in the region.

- In the South East, 48,419 homes were bought with a Stamp Duty rate of 3 per cent or more in 2012-13. This was 39 per cent of all of the transactions in the region. These transactions made up 91 per cent of total Stamp Duty revenues in the region.

- In the East of England, 22,552 homes were bought with a Stamp Duty rate of 3 per cent or more in 2012-13. This was 27 per cent of all of the transactions in the region. These transactions made up 85 per cent of total Stamp Duty revenues in the region.

- In South West, 18,838 homes were bought with a Stamp Duty rate of 3 per cent or more in 2012-13. This was 24 per cent of all of the transactions in the region. These transactions made up 81 per cent of total Stamp Duty revenues in the region.

- Both recent major reviews of the British tax system - the 2020 Tax Commission from the TaxPayers' Alliance/Institute of Directors and the Mirrlees Review from the Institute for Fiscal Studies - concluded that Stamp Duty should be abolished.

- Apart from stopping some people from getting on the property ladder in the first place, Stamp Duty prevents people from moving when they need to. The result is that people stay put when it would make sense for them to move for a variety of reasons, such as getting a new job; being closer to relatives; or having enough space for a growing family.

The Stamp Out Stamp Duty campaign is urging the Government to ease the burden on home-buyers and potential home-buyers by cutting this unfair double tax. David Cameron and George Osborne promised to increase the Stamp Duty threshold in 2007. Six years later and three years into power it's time that they delivered on that promise.

"Owning your own home is an important milestone, but for many families it seems harder and harder to reach. Ministers have done nothing to ease the burden imposed by Stamp Duty, which is an unfair double tax that gets in the way of would-be first-time buyers and others thinking about moving," Matthew Sinclair, Chief Executive of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said.

"Instead they have made things worse with new thresholds and new, higher rates. The Government needs to act on ministers' rhetoric about getting people onto the property ladder and cut this unfair tax."

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