New initiative rakes in £300m from stamp duty avoidance clampdown
HMRC has raked in over £300m in one year through clamping down on stamp duty land tax (SDLT), according to new research released this morning.
The government’s new Counter Avoidance Directorate (CAD) collected £301.8m from the tax applied to property and land transactions in the 12 months to March, data from law firm Collyer Bristow reveal.
The CAD was launched in April 2014 to clamp down on marketed avoidance schemes. In last year’s Autumn Statement, chancellor George Osborne made changes to stamp duty which increased the tax bill on transactions over £1m.
“The Government’s aggressive clamp down on SDLT avoidance schemes over the last few years is now bearing fruit,” said James Badcock, a partner at Collyer Bristow.
Badcock warned that the success of the clampdown would only offer further encouragement to regulators.
“The high returns from compliance investigations mean that this area is likely to remain under the spotlight for some time to come,” he said.