Land tax relief to end this month as planned

The extended cut to stamp duty for housebuyers south of the border will not be replicated in Scotland, Finance Secretary Kate Forbes has confirmed.

While UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak used his Budget on Wednesday to announce continued relief for property purchases, Ms Forbes said the temporary reduction to Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT) – the equivalent of stamp duty in Scotland – would still end this month.

That was despite the chancellor saying the Scottish Government would get an additional £1.2 billion as a result of his Budget.

But Ms Forbes said part of that cash had already been accounted for – or “baked in” – to the spending plans she announced at the end of January in the Scottish Budget.

As part of that, the finance secretary said she had made the “big commitment” to extend business rates relief for a full year – adding Mr Sunak was only doing this for three months.

In Scotland, retail, hospitality, leisure and aviation businesses will pay no rates during 2021-22, Ms Forbes has pledged, saying this had been the “number one ask from business”.

But when asked if she would replicate extended reductions in stamp duty, Ms Forbes said in Scotland the changes would end, as planned, on March 31.

Last July, the finance secretary announced the threshold at which buyers must start to pay LBTT would increase from £145,000 to £250,000 – a move which she said at the time would mean 80% of buyers would not pay anything under the levy.

That was announced in the wake of a similar announcement from the UK Government.

Ms Forbes said the move had “achieved its purpose”.