LBTT rates under scrutiny at Holyrood

12th October 2015 | commercial property , property (non-commercial) , tax

The Finance Committee of the Scottish Parliament recently issued a call for evidence on how LBTT has been operating since its introduction on 1 April 2015.

In particular the committee was looking for feedback on:

what impact the various rates and bands have had on both the residential and commercial property market;
how the level of receipts for residential and non-residential transactions compares to the forecasts;
to what extent higher priced transactions were brought forward to avoid the higher rates;
the extent to which lower-priced transactions were delayed until after 1 April;
whether there should be any changes to the rates and bands for residential transactions in the draft budget for 2016-17; and
how Revenue Scotland is performing in administering and collecting the tax.

While the deadline for responses has now closed, the committee will now consider oral evidence from witnesses.

Commentators have warned that there has been a reduction in sales of higher value residential properties, and concerns have been expressed that this could have an adverse effect on revenues for the Scottish exchequer.