HMRC wins stamp duty tax case

The case was taken against Vardy Property Group, which had been using an aggressive SDLT avoidance scheme also being promoted by several accountancy firms. A company in the Vardy Group had acquired a business park for £7.25m, which would have incurred a SDLT of £290,000. Instead, the group structured the purchase through a newly-formed unlimited company, which immediately distributed the property as a dividend to the shareholder company. The decision in HMRC's favour, subject to any appeal, could save the UK Exchequer more than £170m. The government has also created rules that w...