来源：《每日电讯报》
2021年1月13日
The stamp duty holiday announced by the Chancellor in July has been a remarkable showcase of the power of tax cuts to stimulate economic activity.
英国财政大臣去年7月宣布的印花税减免期，是减税刺激经济的绝佳展示。
After being shut down along with much of the rest of the economy earlier in the year, the property market returned to robust health as buyers capitalised on reduced rates of tax on transactions. With no stamp duty liable on the first ￡500,000 of a residential property purchase, house prices have risen despite the wider gloom.
今年早些时候，房地产市场与其他大部分经济活动一起关闭后，由于购房者利用交易税率的降低进行投资，房地产市场恢复了景气。由于购买住宅不超过50万英镑的部分不需要缴纳印花税，尽管经济前景更为黯淡，但房价还是上涨了。
Stamp duty is, at the best of times, a dreadful way for the Government to raise revenue. It is a tax on freedom and aspiration, preventing people from moving home when they might otherwise wish to do so, given the need to pay thousands of pounds upfront to the taxman whenever they buy an eligible property. It makes it harder for the elderly to downsize, the young to trade up, and anyone to relocate elsewhere in the country for work.
印花税，即使是在好年景的时候，也是政府增收的一种极坏的方式。这是一种对自由和渴望的征税，阻止人们在他们希望搬家的时候搬家，因为每当他们购买符合条件的房产时，需要向税务部门预付数千英镑。这使得老年人更难换小房子，年轻人更难换大房子，任何人都更难搬到国内其他地方工作。
But these are hardly the best of times, which is why Rishi Sunak’s plan to end the stamp duty holiday in March is ill-considered.
但现在可并不是什么好年景，这就是为什么苏纳克决定在3月份结束印花税减免期的计划是欠考虑的。
Already, home-buyers are rushing to beat the deadline and the country is likely still to be in lockdown restrictions until Easter at least, barring a miracle on the vaccine deployment front. Supply-side reforms, such as tax cuts, will also be a critical tool for reviving growth post-pandemic.
现在，购房者正抓紧赶在截止日期前买房，除非疫苗部署方面出现奇迹，否则英国可能至少在复活节前仍将处于封锁限制状态。减税等供给侧改革也将是新冠大流行后恢复经济增长的关键工具。
So it would be unfortunate if Mr Sunak’s Budget were to see no major fiscal policy changes apart from the reversal of a tax cut that has given such a confidence boost to the housing market.
减税给房地产市场带来了信心的提振，但如果苏纳克的政府年度预算除了取消这项减税措施没有新的财政政策，那就太让人失望了。
Far better to make the holiday permanent. It would be welcome relief for those unable to meet the March deadline, but also a signal of the Government’s intent: to put aspiration, freedom and growth first.
最好让减免期永久化。对于那些无法在3月份的最后期限前买房的人来说，这将是一种可喜的解脱，但同时也是政府意图的一个信号：将渴望、自由和增长放在首位。