The Chancellor announced a clampdown today on the tax rules associated with Stamp Duty in a bid to claw back revenue lost from high value property sales. In the budget, George Osborne announced tax changes, which should raise an extra £1bn a year by closing down schemes which disguise remuneration, avoid corporation tax, VAT and stamp duty land tax, said HM Treasury.

Osborne said: “There’s one area that needs extra work in the coming months, and that’s the taxation of very high value property, where evasion and avoidance are widespread and some of the wealthiest are not paying their fair share.

“So as well as reviewing revenues from the 50p tax rate, we will also be redoubling our efforts to find ways of ensuring that owners of high value property cannot avoid paying their fair share.”
The schedule introduced by the Treasury moves to close tax loopholes, including an additional exception in the sub-sales rules.

It will also narrow the definition of a ‘financial institution’ for tax purposes and change the rules on how property is valued ahead of sale, to hold the price up to at least market value.