Finance secretary Kate Forbes confirms stamp duty cut extension not applicable to Scotland

5 Mar 2021

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Kate Forbes

Finance secretary Kate Forbes has confirmed an extended cut to stamp duty for housebuyers in England will not be matched by the Scottish Government.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak used his Budget to announce continued relief for property purchases, but the Scottish finance secretary said the temporary reduction to Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT) – the equivalent of stamp duty in Scotland – would still end in March.

The Scottish Conservatives have urged Ms Forbes to “think again”, claiming the move will mean that many households in Scotland will be unable to move home.

Ms Forbes announced the move despite the Chancellor saying the Scottish Government would get an additional £1.2 billion as a result of his Budget, The Herald reports.

However, Ms Forbes said part of that cash had already been “baked in” to the spending plans she announced in the Scottish budget. Ms Forbes said she had made the “big commitment” to extend business rates relief for a full year – adding Mr Sunak was only doing this for three months.

Ms Forbes has stated that retail, hospitality, leisure and aviation businesses will pay no rates during 2021/22, with the finance secretary urging that this been the “number one ask from business”.

However, when asked if she would replicate extended reductions in stamp duty, she said in Scotland the changes would end on March 31.

Kate Forbes said: “We will stick to that original plan, that was set out clearly. It was intended to support the recovery of the residential property market this financial year, that has been achieved.”

“The nil rate band was already lower in Scotland, and yet we have seen record-high levels of transactions and house purchases, so it has achieved its purpose. But, ultimately, when it comes to tax policy, I have choices.

“The number one ask from business was to extend the 100 per cent relief on non-domestic rates, that’s what I have done alongside freezing council tax to help households in need so those are our choices in taxation.”

Last July, the finance secretary announced the threshold at which buyers must start to pay LBTT would increase from £145,000 to £250,000 – a move which she said at the time would mean 80% of buyers would not pay anything under the levy.