I am not an expert in the area, and will not claim to be one, but I do know that each and every cohort of PPR purchasers avail of the effects on government housing policy decisions differently. It is constantly changing and some benefit more than others from the various changes
For a good period prior to 2011, FTB were exempt from stamp duty, whereas subsequent buyers were penalised much higher
From 2011, everyone paid a standard 1% across the board
For a period of time, purchasers of property were exempt from LPT for a number of years (cannot remember the exact dates)
For others it was the availability of Mortgage Interest Relief
Now it is the Help to Buy scheme
All of these initiatives are ultimately to encourage people to make provisions for the future and target specific groups of people. However, everyone who avails of this relief could be classified as 'more well off' as they are in a position to purchase a property in the first instance.
My view is all of these initiatives ultimately raise the price of property, so they should all be abolished and all incentives should be banned permanently. The only incentives which should be permitted is those that reduce the price of property, or increase the available supply - e.g. reducing VAT on newly built homes or reducing development fees.
The only big difference I see with MIR over the others is most of the others were clear once off benefits, so extending them to benefit the same people was not an option. I cannot imagine a scenario where people would be too happy if the LPT exemption was extended for that group
For the record, I avail of MIR having purchased in 2011, but I consider it my offset against having to pay 1% stamp duty as a FTB
Can I come up with a valid reason to extend it other than its nice to see something back from the government - sadly I cannot !
PS: I do agree that the government does and should have incentives people to act in a responsible manner and reduce the need for future costs on the public purse. However, I do think the tax relief on pensions up to 2m is way too high and should be around 1.2m - allowing for a lump sum payment and a pension roughly equal to the average industrial wage.