Stamp Duty Avoidance - Legal or Scam?

JUNIPER

Hi there,

I am looking to buy and registered my details with several EAs on Zoopla. One EA called back to discuss what I was looking for and recommended to me (for a commission, no doubt) an independent tax accounting firm who could help me "save" on SDLT.

So my details were passed on to this firm who called to say that they could save me 100% of my SDLT, due to a loophole in the SDLT system, but would charge a fee of 45%, .

There are several websites online by firms also openly offering a similar service. Is this legal or a scam?

I may be wrong, but I think the firm essentially buys the property and sells it back to you because commercial entities do not incur SDLT? Has anyone gone down this route?

richardw

Why aren't they charging a fee of 49/50% if the benefit to you is 'so good'?

macarena123

THere was a recent article about this on the FT (link below - remove the spaces as I can't yet post URLs) - firms are increasingly targeting ordinary buyers who are getting hit with ever larger SDLT bills.

General consensus seems to be that these schemes are sailing very close to the wind - and HMRC are getting wise to it and cracking down on them.

Unless you are VERY sure of what you're doing you could well end up paying these guys and then having to pay the taxman as well. Plus no doubt getting done for tax evasion.

It's your choice but personally I'd steer well clear - if these schemes are so great, and it's such a clear loophole, you have to ask yourself why everyone isn't doing it?

ht tp: //www. ft.com/cms/s/0/380af80c-7aaa-11e2-915b-00144feabdc0.html#axzz2RsC9qo7p

Yorkie1

Solicitors are expressly warned to keep an eye out for, and avoid, such schemes.

http://www.sra.org.uk/solicitors/code-of-conduct/guidance/warning-notices/Stamp-duty-land-tax-schemes--Warning-notice.page

HMRC has years to catch up with such schemes - far longer than the firms' guarantees. If you're caught by HMRC, you'll pay a fine as well as the tax again.

It's just not worth the risk.