Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to reduce the amount of correspondence not yet dealt with at the HM Revenue and Customs Stamp Duty office.

This Government invested in HM Revenue and Customs’ (HMRC) Stamp Taxes business unit at Budget 2016 to increase capacity in relation to the new higher rates of Stamp Duty Land Tax on additional properties.

In order to reduce volumes of correspondence HMRC is reviewing guidance to cover those areas where substantial correspondence has been generated.

Additional resources have been put into call handling at HMRC’s Stamp Taxes helpline, providing an improved customer service and aiming to reduce follow-up correspondence.