Make stamp duty on paper deals a self-assessed tax

The Office of Tax Simplification has published its interim report on stamp duty on paper share transactions. It outlines two options:

• to create a digital self-assessed stamp duty to sit alongside stamp duty reserve tax (SDRT); or
• to modify SDRT to create a merged duty that would charge ‘agreements to transfer’ rather than the transfer instruments.

During its investigations none of the interviewees suggested changing the fundamental requirement for payment of stamp duty to register a transfer of legal ownership.

Instead most favoured the merged tax approach although a key question on this concerned when the payment obligation would be triggered. This could be on the agreement to transfer or it could use the concept of completion or substantial performance as with the stamp duty land tax rules.

Interviewees warned that any changes to stamp duty...