Stamp Duty

HC Deb 04 May 1999 vol 330 cc341-2W

Mr. Loughton

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much stamp duty and stamp duty reserve tax the Inland Revenue(a) received from managers or authorised corporate directors and (b) repaid to managers or authorised corporate directors, in connection with (i) dealings in the units of unit trust schemes and OEICS and (ii) dealings in the units of unauthorised unit trusts, over the last three financial years; and how much he anticipates it will receive and repay in the first full year of operation of the new SORT regime announced in Budget Day press release IR17. [R] [79347]

Ms Hewitt

[holding answer 30 March 1999]: Estimated total gross receipts, repayments and net receipts of Stamp Duty from trading in units of unit trusts and in OEIC shares are shown in the table. The available information does not distinguish between authorised unit trusts, unauthorised unit trusts, and OE1CS.

£ million
Stamp duty receipts	Gross receipts1	Repayments2	Net receipts
1996–97	61	27	34
1997–98	81	43	38
1998–99
First half year	90	60	30
Second half year	83	76	7
Total 1998–99	173	136	37
1Including Stamp Duty liabilities presented to the Stamp Office with matching claims for refunds.
2Including the matching refund claims as described in the footnote above.

Receipts of Stamp Duty Reserve Tax under the Budget proposals to replace the current Stamp Duty regime will depend on the future volume of trading in units of unit trusts and in OEIC shares. The new system is designed to be more straightforward to administer and to pave the way for electronic trading of units, while maintaining a broadly consistent approach between dealings in units and dealings in shares. Total tax liabilities under the new system should be broadly similar to the overall net liabilities that would arise from applying the principles underlying the current rules—under which Stamp Duty is charged on surrenders to trust managers and refunds made to avoid a double charge when, as a consequence, the units are cancelled and corresponding amounts of the trust's underlying assets are sold.