Property: buyers flock to Britain despite tax 'triple whammy' - Citywire

Property: buyers flock to Britain despite tax 'triple whammy' - Citywire

The changes to stamp duty in chancellor George Osborne’s latest Budget initiated a flurry of activity as buyers moved quickly to avoid punitive charges.
‘Last night, deals were being struck right up to midnight and we were involved with a good dozen that were worth at least £50 million,’ said one top London estate agent the morning after the announcements.
This frenzied deal-making marked the last chance for wealthy foreign investors to complete any transactions, before the Budget's stamp duty hike took effect.
For many oligarchs with prime London property, the most surprising new measure is not the 2% increase in stamp duty land tax (SDLT) to 7% for properties worth more than £2 million, which was leaked to the media beforehand. Nor was it the introduction of a 15% tax on special purpose vehicles (SPV) used to bypass SDLT when buying property.