SDLT announcements in the Budget

The first two measures below are effective from 21st March, the third from 22nd March 2012: 

• 1.       A higher rate of SDLT of 15% for purchases of single dwellings over £2,000,000 by certain non-natural persons or bodies of persons.
  
• 2.       Changes to the SDLT rules on transfer of rights (sub-sales) to exclude the grant or assignment of an option from being a transfer of rights.
  
• 3.       A higher rate of SDLT of 7% for purchases of residential property over £2,000,000, where the 15% rate does not apply.

The following measures were announced in December 2011 and confirmed in today’s statement:

Two changes to the SDLT Disclosure of Tax Avoidance Schemes (DOTAS) rules which will remove the ‘grandfathering’ provision for certain avoidance schemes involving subsales, and remove the thresholds for notification under DOTAS.

• Two sets of regulations will be made, following Royal Assent to the Finance Bill, to give effect to the changes.  We plan to publish draft regulations on 29 March alongside the publication of the Finance Bill (or shortly thereafter).
• The abolition of a number of stamp duty and SDLT reliefs following a review by the Office of Tax Simplification.  The abolitions will take effect from April 2013.
• The Finance Bill contains a power to confer exemption/relief from stamp duty and SDRT for transactions concerning the new UK Tax Transparent Funds.  We plan to publish draft regulations under the new power in early May.
• Re-enactment and updating of the SDLT relief for purchases by certain NHS bodies.  This measure will take effect from the date of Royal Assent to the Finance Bill.

The following announcements were also made:

• A statement was issued by the Chancellor that the Government will act swiftly to curb further SDLT abuse, with the use of retrospective legislation where appropriate.
• That the Government intends to introduce an annual charge payable on the ownership of residential property where the value is greater than £2 million and the person owning the property is a non-natural person.   A consultation will be launched over spring/summer with a view to legislating in Finance Act 2013.
• Consultation on the SDLT rules on transfer of rights (sub-sales) at section 45 of Finance Act 2003.  The consultation document will be published spring/summer.
• Informal consultation on simplifying the SDLT rules that apply to lease arrangements that involve an abnormal rent increase, the substantial performance of an agreement for lease or a lease that continues after a fixed term.  The consultation will commence in April.

Further details on all the above can be found on the HMRC website at www.hmrc.gov.uk/budget2012/

New Land Registry Form

A new promulgated form has been introduced by Land Registry called RQ. This has been introduced by the Land Registry in response to concerns about property fraud. The form is to be used by private individuals who do not reside at the property they own to request the entry of a restriction in form LL to be entered in the register.

This form will be available in the next build of CASA being tested at the moment.

New Address for Legal Ombudsman

The address for the Legal Ombudsman changed recently in case you missed it the new details are as below

PO Box 6806,

Wolverhampton WV1 9WJ.

Telephone: 0300 555 0333

Photo shows St Peter & St Paul Church, Godalming, Surrey.

Maria's CASA Tips:

There is full PDF file conversation capabilities in CASA. If it is a financial document (an estimate, bill or statement) then on the print preview screen you will find a pdf icon which will convert the document to a pdf format. If it is a WORD document that you have imported Into the matter history you can select the document and convert it to pdf by selecting the PDF tab. We suggest you use this format when sending documents by email.

News from the Support Team:

You should have received an email from the support team detailing how to update your stamp duty band table.

The document "Explaining Stamp Duty Land Tax and Appointment of Agent" reference CXPF031 has also been updated to reflect the changes in rates. If you have not received the email or you need help with this update then please contact any member of the support team.

A new promulgated form is now available from Land Registry RQ, this is a request for a restriction by owners not living at the property. The form is available now on the Land Registry site and will be available in the next version of CASA.

Find out how to register for the new Land Registry Business Gateway service. This service enables you to carry out searches with the Land Registry through CASA. Documents are saved automatically in the matter history and there is no extra charge for carrying out the searches in this way.

News from the Development Team:

We are still working on the enhancements to emailing from CASA. Work will soon be starting on the ability to submit applications through CASA using the new Business Gateway service.

This update is planned to be ready for the end of June.

March 2012