STAMP DUTY ‘ WELSH PAY MORE THAN ENGLISH’ LAW TO GO?

The Welsh Government is expected to abandon planned changes to stamp duty rules that would have seen some buyers in the country paying higher bills than their English counterparts.

Ahead of the devolution of the relevant powers to Wales, the Welsh Government said it would not honour a stamp duty exemption that allowed some buyers to avoid paying the higher rates.

When the higher rate, which applies to buyers of second homes, was introduced in November 2015 the law allowed a grace period of three years for those who sold a former main residence before that date.

Anyone selling now has three years from the date of the sale.

The grace period is due to expire in November, but Welsh buyers have been told that when a new “land transaction tax” replaces stamp duty in Wales in April the exemption will not apply, effectively bringing forward the deadline by six months.

The Welsh Government is due to debate proposals to honour the original deadline on Jan 30. However, any decision to keep it would come too late for some landlords who have chosen to evict their tenants following the confusion.

Phil Williams, who owns a buyto-let property in Wrexham, has found himself caught out. He sold his original home in 2008 and has been renting since. When the surcharge was introduced he thought he would have until November to buy a new home without paying the surcharge, even if he kept his buy-to-let. Mr Williams said he could not risk waiting to see if the Government would change its mind, so he has issued an eviction notice to his tenants with the intention to sell the property.