Asked by: Damien Moore (Conservative - Southport)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to prevent councils using offshore companies to avoid paying stamp duty when purchasing commercial property.
Answered by Mel Stride - Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
Purchases of land and buildings by offshore companies are liable to Stamp Duty Land Tax in the same way as any other purchase. Further, the treatment of non-resident landlords means that income from UK property is taxable wherever in the world it is received.
Under statute, local authorities have the freedom to invest without prior government consent.