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Pressure is building on Chancellor George Osborne to scrap stamp duty for properties under £500,000 in his forthcoming Autumn Statement.

There has been a strong backlash against this unpopular tax, as stamp duty bills spiral in line with house prices.

Critics claim it acts as a brake on social mobility and the property market recovery.

The Free Enterprise Group of Conservative MPs recently called for stamp duty to be scrapped for all homes worth less than £500,000.

It has been lobbying the Chancellor to consider the move, in a bid to help Britain's squeezed middle classes. The Taxpayers' Alliance has also been running a Stamp Out Stamp Duty campaign.

Now tax adviser Richard Godmon, partner at Menzies LLP, has added his voice to the campaign.

"Osborne should use this opportunity to abolish the stamp duty land tax for purchase of properties under £500,000 as this is a tax on mobility and freedom of movement.

"To offset this, he can introduce a capital gains tax on UK property sold by non-residents, which would normally be exempt."

The Chancellor is widely thought to be considering imposing CGT on wealthy foreign property owners in his Autumn Statement, in a bid to curb breakneck house price growth in the capital.

But any move to scrap stamp duty seems unlikely, given that the taxman makes a huge £800 million a month from the tax.

Instead of charging CGT on foreigners to fund a stamp duty cut, the UK property market could end up with both taxes instead.

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