Property tax system Bill published

Dec 3 2012

Plans for a new system of property taxation have been set out in what is a historic first for the Scottish Government.

Finance Secretary John Swinney has put forward legislation for a tax to replace stamp duty on property sales.

It is the first time a Bill has been introduced that will allow the Scottish Parliament to both set and collect a proportion of its revenue. It is proposed that the new land and building transactions tax will come into force from April 2015.

Mr Swinney said it is an "innovative approach to taxation" that would be more progressive than stamp duty.

Under that system, those buying a property for £125,000 or more are charged between 1% and 7% of the amount they have paid, depending on the price. Under stamp duty's "slab" system, if a property is just above the threshold for a higher rate of duty, this is applied to the total sum.

Stamp duty is applied at 1% for properties costing between £125,000 and £250,000 and 3% on those sold for £250,000 to £500,000. This means that if a house is sold for £260,000, the buyer must pay 3% of the whole amount, a total of £7,800, while for a house costing £240,000, the charge is just 1% (£2,400).

Documents lodged with the Land and Building Transactions Tax (Scotland) Bill reveal that the Scottish Government "plans to replace this with a proportional progressive structure, which includes a nil rate band and at least two other bands".

The SNP administration also proposes that only the proportion of the price above the threshold is liable to the higher rate of tax. As a result, ministers believe this "progressive structure will be more proportionate to the ability to pay and will remove the distortion in prices at the thresholds".

Mr Swinney said: "Today we take a further step toward setting and collecting of taxes in Scotland and doing so better and at less cost than the UK Government. In this Bill we are setting out an innovative approach to taxation that is much better aligned with Scots law and practices, and the principle of progressive taxation."

"The changes we are proposing would give us the opportunity to better support first-time buyers trying to get onto the housing ladder or families buying bigger homes that better suit their needs. Rather than the current distortive slab approach which sees people pay too much tax and distorts the market, we will ensure that taxpayers pay an amount more proportionate to the value of their property."