Land Transaction Tax in Wales

FORTHCOMING CHANGE: The Welsh Government consulted on proposals relating to LTT reliefs including the abolition of LTT multiple-dwellings relief, abolition of relief in respect of purchases of six or more dwellings in a single transaction and the extension of existing relief to Welsh local authorities when purchasing property for social housing purposes. The consultation closed on 19 May 2024. The Welsh Government published its summary of responses to the consultation stating that they ‘will continue to undertake work to assess the potential impacts, benefits and costs of options related to LTT reliefs’ and that an update on plans regarding LTT reliefs will be provided in due course.

CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19): There is a delay in processing correspondence (including returns and cheques) sent by post to the Welsh Revenue Authority (WRA) on or after 18 March 2020. Online services are largely unaffected by COVID-19 so the WRA recommends that taxpayers use their online services. Contact the WRA helpdesk before sending any correspondence by post. See: How to pay LTT.

FORTHCOMING CHANGE relating to LTT rates: The Welsh government consulted on considerations relating to a

To view the latest version of this document and thousands of others like it, sign-in with LexisNexis or register for a free trial.

Powered by Lexis+®
Latest Property News

Market value, distributions and notional transactions—key SDLT lessons from Tower One St George Wharf Ltd v HMRC

Tax analysis: In Tower One St George Wharf Ltd v HMRC, the Court of Appeal considered the basis on which stamp duty land tax (SDLT) should be assessed and whether that resulted in SDLT being paid on the market value; the actual consideration paid; or on some other basis for a complex transaction within a corporate group. The taxpayer argued that the ‘Case 3’ exception under section 54(4) of the Finance Act 2003 (FA 2003) applied, which would result in SDLT being charged on the actual consideration. HMRC argued that the exception did not apply, which would result in SDLT being paid on the market value of the property. Alternatively, HMRC argued that if the exception did apply then the anti-avoidance provisions at section 75A FA 2003 applied, potentially resulting in an even higher SDLT charge. The Court of Appeal held that although the Case 3 exception applied, the anti-avoidance provision in FA 2003, s 75A also applied. This resulted in SDLT being assessed on an aggregate amount that was even higher than the property's market value (although HMRC did not seek to increase its assessment beyond market value). Therefore, the appeal was dismissed. As explained by Jon Stevens, partner, and Rory Clarke, solicitor, at DWF Law LLP, this decision deals with the interaction of a number of complex SDLT provisions; clarifies the SDLT provisions relating to transfers to connected companies; and the SDLT anti-avoidance provisions, with implications for corporate structuring and tax planning.

View Property by content type :

Popular documents