§ Mr. WhittingdaleTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the total amount raised in stamp duty on share transactions in each of the last five years. [62276]
§ Ms Hewitt[holding answer 3 December 1998]: The figures are as follows:
Stamp duty (including stamp duty reserve tax) on transactions of shares and other securities £million Year Amount 1993–94 1,035 1994–95 1,013 1995–96 1,298 1996–97 1,408 1997–98 1,960
§ Ms LawrenceTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the Government's plans with regard to the current stamp duty exemption when authorised unit trusts merge with an open-ended investment company. [63263]
§ Ms HewittFollowing a number of representations, we intend to extend the current temporary exemption from Stamp Duty Reserve Tax (SDRT) when authorised unit trusts merge into an open-ended investment company 139W (OEIC) to match the timetable for the introduction of the framework to allow the formation of a wider range of OEICS. This means that investment funds which intend to rationalise their range of products by merging authorised unit trusts into an OEIC will have the opportunity to do so without paying a Stamp Duty or SDRT charge.
The current exemption for mergers of authorised unit trusts into OEICs ends on 30 June 1999. We intend to extend this until a year after the coming into force of Treasury Regulations putting in place the new framework.