Readers’ forum: What is the tax position if company is liquidated?

A client owns 100% of the shares of a non-UK company which in turn owns a UK residential property.

There is a loan from a third party (in this case a non-UK trust) to the company which has been used to pay for expenses. The loan is not secured on the property.

Ignoring all the other issues what is the stamp duty land tax position if the company is liquidated and the property and the debt are transferred out to the shareholder?

Would the assumption of the debt be treated as consideration for the transfer even though it is not secured on the property? If the loan was effectively replaced by a shareholder loan would this improve the position or would it be caught by FA 2003 s 75A?

Query 20 501 –  Insecure.

The real threat would still be from FA 2003 s 75A....