Restriction of scope

From 1 December 2003 Stamp Duty will only apply to transfers of land, shares and interests in partnerships. Intellectual property and goodwill have been exempted by recent Budgets, but this change removes any other property (such as debts) from the charge. Non-residential land will also be subject to a nil rate where the consideration does not exceed £150,000 (at present £60,000).

Leases

At present, duty on the grant of a lease is calculated at a percentage (between 1% and 24%, depending on the length of the lease) of the average annual rent. It is proposed to change this to a charge of 1% of the discounted value of the total rent payable under the lease. This is likely to be significantly higher than the current charge in most cases. This change will follow after consultation.

Disadvantaged areas

Stamp duty continues to be subject to a favourable scheme on 2,000 "enterprise areas" (details can be found on the Revenue's website). Non-residential property is not charged to duty at all, and residential property is only charged if the consideration exceeds £150,000.