Reports of plans by the Treasury to suspend stamp duty for all home buyers could help kick-start the ailing property market, but would result in the Treasury having to fund a tax shortfall of up to £7bn from other sources, experts warn. However, if payment of stamp duty was merely to be postponed, the loss to the Treasury would be only temporary and home buyers would still need to pay it at a later date, says Grant Thornton. Latest figures show that residential property transactions contributed £6.4bn in stamp duty receipts to the Treasury in 2006/7. Karen Campbell, head of stamp taxes at Grant Thornton, said she was pleased to see the government considering using the tax system to revive the property market and economy, but if reports of a complete suspension - rather than postponement - of stamp duty are to be believed then the Treasury would most likely recover the lost receipts through alternative taxation, 'a difficult prospect with an upcoming election and the current squeeze of personal finances of UK individuals'. Campbell added that it was interesting to note that stamp duty, which is a strong revenue earner for the Treasury, was suspended from December 1991 for nine months when the property market was experiencing similar problems.