ARTICLE · 22 MARCH 2005

Stamp Duty Land Tax: Budget Changes

Pinsent Masons

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In his pre-Election Budget Gordon Brown has announced some surprisingly extensive changes to the SDLT regime which requires all parties in the Real Estate market to review their SDLT strategy.

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Originally published March 2005

In his pre-Election Budget Gordon Brown has announced some surprisingly extensive changes to the SDLT regime which requires all parties in the Real Estate market to review their SDLT strategy.

Action Points

Review all transactions, whether sales or lease transactions, in Disadvantaged Areas to see whether an SDLT scheme can be used.

Where contracts for a purchase of property or grant of a lease have been exchanged in a Disadvantaged Area take care to ensure the contract is not varied, sub-sold or assigned.

Reconsider your ‘favourite’ SDLT schemes against the new blocking measures.

Disadvantaged Area Relief

In a surprise measure the Government has abolished with immediate effect the unlimited exemption from SDLT for commercial properties in Disadvantaged Areas. Only transactions which have exchanged contracts on or before 16 March will continue to obtain the exemption and even then the contract must not be varied. Options do not

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