Budget 2003 Introduction Personal Income Tax National Insurance 2003/04 Pensioners Employees Savings Capitals Gains Tax Stamp Duty Inheritance Tax Corporation Tax Business Tax Value Added Tax Other Measures Tax Tables National Insurance

Stamp Duty Restriction of scope From 1 December 2003 Stamp Duty will only apply to transfers of land, shares and interests in partnerships. Intellectual property and goodwill have been exempted by recent Budgets, but this change removes any other property (such as debts) from the charge. Non-residential land will also be subject to a nil rate where the consideration does not exceed £150,000 (at present £60,000). Leases At present, duty on the grant of a lease is calculated at a percentage (between 1% and 24%, depending on the length of the lease) of the average annual rent. It is proposed to change this to a charge of 1% of the discounted value of the total rent payable under the lease. This is likely to be significantly higher than the current charge in most cases. This change will follow after consultation. Tax Trap If you are thinking of taking on a lease, it may be worth beating the charge. Disadvantaged areas Stamp duty continues to be subject to a favourable scheme on 2,000 "enterprise areas" (details can be found on the Revenue's website). Non-residential property is not charged to duty at all, and residential property is only charged if the consideration exceeds £150,000.