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Article: Artful tax dodges The latest development incentive is a scheme that enables homebuyers to avoid exorbitant stamp duty
- Article from:
- The Evening Standard (London, England)
- Article date:
- May 5, 1999
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 1999 Evening Standard - London. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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HOMEBUYERS and builders are resorting to tax avoidance in order to
soften the blow of rising stamp duty.
Estate agents claim the new rates of stamp duty, introduced in the
Budget in March, have deterred buyers from middle-market schemes
across the South-East.
The recent jump in house prices has pushed many properties into
the higher stamp duty bands -2.5 per cent on purchases between GBP
250,000 and GBP 500,000, and 3.5 per cent on homes costing more than
GBP 500,000.
This means that someone buying a home priced at, say, GBP 525,000
has to fork out an additional GBP 18,375 in duty.
"It is a big bill to swallow," says Chris Coates, regional
managing director of Linden Homes. This company has ...