A stamp duty “holiday” would not help to stimulate Jersey’s property market, according to the Treasury Minister – who has warned that a permanent cut in rates could even lead to increases in other taxes to make up for lost revenue.

In response to a written question from Deputy Max Andrews, Deputy Elaine Millar said the Government had no plans to make any changes to the stamp duty rates “either on a temporary or a permanent basis”.

Debate over the potential need for a stamp duty “holiday” came to the fore last year amid a major slowdown in property transactions.

Pictured: Treasury Minister Elaine Millar said there were no plans for a reduction in stamp duty rates.

It is not the first time that Deputy Andrews has raised the matter, having asked in November whether the exemption of stamp duty on “lower-value transactions” had been considered to help stimulate activity in the housing market.

Deputy Millar has previously said that such a break would be “unaffordable” and argued that the housing market was “slowly recovering”.

According to the latest House Price Index from Statistics Jersey, which covered the first three months of 2025, there was a 90% increase in the number of properties sold compared to the same period in 2024.

In February, Housing Minister Sam Mézec also dismissed calls for “urgent intervention” in Jersey’s housing market, instead contending that current policies were working to correct years of “unsustainable” price increases.

Pictured: Housing Minister Sam Mézec speaking at All Island Media’s ‘Housing…crisis averted?’ event earlier this year.

However, Deputy Andrews asked if the Treasury Minister was “considering a reduction in stamp duty, whilst maintaining a 3% higher rate for transactions other than a main residence, in order to stimulate land and property transactions”.

Deputy Millar responded: “There are no plans to make any changes to the stamp duty rates, either on a temporary or a permanent basis.”

She continued: “The evidence shows that stamp duty holidays do not stimulate property transactions.

“Instead, they bring forward the timing of transactions, often at increased prices, which can lead to a fall in transaction numbers at the end of the holiday.”

Deputy Millar also warned that a permanent cut in stamp duty rates “would reduce revenue”, which could then result in the need to raise other taxes or charges.