The amount of money that the Labour Government in Cardiff Bay has acquired through residential rates on Land Transaction Tax (LTT) almost doubled between 2018 and 2022.
Figures from StatsWales show that in the last financial year, £282 million was acquired through residential LTT compared to 2018/19, where £146 million was raised.
Over the same period, the average house price in Wales has risen by 37% from £156,000 in April 2018 to £212,000 in April 2022.
Currently Wales has no first-time buyers support, unlike in England where first-time buyers pay no stamp duty on properties up to £300,000.
This means that first-time buyers can pay up to almost £5,000 more tax on a property than in England.
Labour have failed to build the 12,000 houses per year required in Wales and have failed to meet their own revised target of 8,700.
This follows the news that the Welsh Conservatives have announced radical policies to prevent land-banking by developers.
Commenting on the news, Welsh Conservative Shadow Minister for Housing, Janet Finch-Saunders MS said:
“23 years of Labour mismanagement of housing in Wales has resulted in a housing crisis affecting many hardworking families across the country.
“It is frankly embarrassing that first-time buyers receive no relief from Labour ministers, who instead continue to collect more and more tax every year as a result of their housing crisis.
“That could maybe be justified if the money was being raised for something worthwhile like easing the cost-of-living but, instead, it will be wasted on more politicians in Cardiff Bay.
“Labour needs to listen to our calls to implement first-time buyers’ relief in Wales to help the next generation of aspiring young people to get on the housing ladder.”