The TImes (while it's still free): Don’t waste money on young homebuyers

"[The]decision to increase the stamp duty rate on home sales of more than £1 million — while painful for many families, particularly in London and the South East — is one of the least bad ways to raise revenue. It is certainly less destructive than taxing income, which lessens incentives to work. Property is an unproductive asset that benefits few, whereas work creates wealth, ideas and employment that benefit everyone. Taxes on properties are also hard to avoid — you cannot move your mansion to Monaco, but you can take your business and ideas...Another credible argument says that first-time buyers won’t really benefit from the cut because the money will be taken by vendors who will simply increase their sale price by a corresponding amount..."