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Stamp Duty
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.
Tax Trap |
If you are thinking of taking on a
lease, it may be worth beating the charge.
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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.
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