Nice to see this in the Evening Standard

From the Evening Standard:

At some point in the next couple of days, if all goes well with my flat move, I’ll hand over about nine grand to the Government. I suppose if I were a multinational company, I’d be able to buy the Chancellor a macchiato at Davos and call it quits, but I’m not, so there’s nothing for it but to key in the pin and let out a squeal. Try not to spend it all at once, Gideon.

Not thinking about it seems the best tactic, since if you do think about stamp duty, you are likely to become angry — just like The TaxPayers’ Alliance, which has launched a furious campaign to “stamp out” this “punitive” tax on ordinary people.

As a taxpayer myself, I am often at odds with the alliance that has formed in my name — which tends to come over as the political arm of the Top Gear fan club.

Certainly, I see nothing wrong with the principle of taxing people on their [land]. If, in 10 years’ time, I sell my home for a large profit simply because the London market is mental, then those gains strike me as eminently taxable — even if a land value tax has more to recommend it.