25% of stamp duty from 25 councils
A quarter of all residential stamp duty paid in the 2006/7 tax year came from just 25 local authorities, research from mortgage bank Halifax shows.
Nine out of the 10 local authorities which generated more than £50 million in residential stamp duty are in London, Halifax added.
Kensington and Chelsea generated the most revenue at £235 million, followed by Westminster (£193 million) and Wandsworth (£122 million).
The only non-London authority in the top 10 highest payers was Elmbridge in Surrey (£68 million), according to Halifax’s analysis of tax office data.
Edinburgh, Leeds, Bristol and Birmingham are the only areas outside the South East among the 25 local authorities which paid the most stamp duty.
Martin Ellis, Halifax chief economist, said: “There were some very steep increases in residential stamp duty revenue at a local level in the last financial year.
“A sharp rise in the number of property sales above the 3% stamp duty threshold of £250,000 has been a key factor behind this dramatic increase.”
Limavady in Northern Ireland saw the largest percentage increase in residential stamp duty tax paid at 289%, Halifax said.
Some 24 local authorities experienced at least a doubling in the amount of residential stamp duty raised in the last tax year.
Total stamp duty revenue from residential property sales in the UK rose by 40% (£1.8 billion) in 2006/07 to a record £6.4 billion.