I think you may have misread my post, Mark F. In order for the BBs to down-size they have to buy a smaller property, thus they are lumbered with stamp duty they cannot afford, which is the crux of my point. They are a seller and buyer both. And yes, the buyer pays the stamp duty.
Going from other opinions on this thread thus far it looks like folks would prefer no stamp duty at all. That would be great, but States derive considerable income from SD, which pays for schools, hospitals etc (although I have issues with building sport stadiums with that money), so sadly that will never happen. Certainly bracket creep is a valid issue, but so far no one has questioned or given opinion on the premise of my SD theory.
