Stamp duty avoidance schemes in demand
Lawyers and solicitors around the UK have confirmed an increase in demand for stamp duty avoidance schemes as the UK government looks set to increase stamp duty on properties valued at over £1 million to 5% against the current 4% rate. While the potential stamp duty savings can be enormous for those looking at properties in the higher millions of pounds there is still significant savings to be made at the lower end.
The subject of stamp duty avoidance schemes is a very prickly and controversial area of law in the UK because while many of the schemes are perfectly legal, many companies are unwilling to give details to the public fearing that the UK government would block these potential opportunities. We have also seen the UK government looking to introduce new tax legislation retrospectively which could have an impact upon potential tax avoidance schemes.
As the UK government continues to increase taxes across the board and introduce more and more costs into the property and business arena, we are certain to see more tax avoidance and tax reduction schemes hitting the market place. The legality of such schemes will almost certainly be challenged by the UK government at some stage hence the reason why this very secretive and potentially lucrative area of the market is not heavily publicised.
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