On 10 August 2016 the UK launched a consultation on changes to the Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) filing and payment process. The government is inviting comments from interested parties by 7 October 2016.
SDLT is charged on the freehold or leasehold acquisition of land in the UK (apart from Scotland that has its own Land and Buildings Transaction Tax). The changes are intended to improve the process of filing an SDLT return and paying the tax, saving compliance costs for taxpayers and the tax administration. One of the main changes is that the filing and payment window for SDLT is to be reduced from 30 days to 14 days after the effective date of the relevant transaction. This amendment would take effect at some point within the 2017/18 tax year, probably in January or March 2018.
Other proposed changes would include the introduction of mandatory online filing and electronic payment for agents; and earlier issue of the unique tax return number (UTRN) to enable taxpayers to prepare payment of the tax at an earlier stage.
