Postby SDLT Geek » Sat Dec 01, 2018 10:32 pm
HM Treasury have replied to a letter about their consultation and have referred to the "new SDLT surcharge of 1% on non-residents buying residential property in England and Northern Ireland to help to control house price growth and so help ensure those resident in the UK can get on the housing ladder." Also they say "there is evidence that non-resident buyers purchasing homes in the UK could be inflating house prices".
They say: "The consultation will cover all aspects of the charge, including, how non-resident will be defined and how it applies to companies".
It does not seem likely that they will take up my suggestion of using the consultation as a chance to simplify the 3% surcharge and integrate this extra charge into a much simpler system where only those who are not buying a property to live in as their only or main resident have to pay the surcharge.