歳入 stamp 義務 gaffe

By Daily Mail Reporter
Updated: 00:00 BST, 20 March 2003

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THOUSANDS of homebuyers in some of the most 奪うd parts of the country have needlessly paid millions of 続けざまに猛撃するs in stamp 義務 as a result of Inland 歳入 bungling.

Stamp 義務 is the 税金 people 支払う／賃金 when they move house. It's 告発（する），告訴（する）／料金d at 1% on 所有物／資産／財産 - and land - costing more than £60,000 and at higher ネズミ es over £250,000. You 支払う／賃金 the 税金 on the whole 購入（する） price, not just the 超過 over £60,000.

But from November 30, 2001, stamp 義務 was 廃止するd on homes costing up to £150,000 in 2,000 いわゆる 'disadvantaged areas'. The idea was to regenerate run-負かす／撃墜する 地区s.

But 欠如（する） of up-to-date （警察などへの）密告，告訴（状） on an Inland 歳入 website used by solicitors means that thousands of homebuyers have paid the 税金 when they shouldn't have. Crucially, it does not 含む postcodes for new homes. It is at least two years - and may be as much as five years - out of date.

When solicitors check the website to see if a home is 免除された from stamp 義務, they can be misled into giving homebuyers the wrong advice.

If the postcode of the 所有物／資産／財産 you're buying does not appear on the website, the solicitor may believe it is not 免除された from stamp 義務, even though this may not be the 事例／患者.

The 歳入 finally owned up to its mistake this month, admitting it is refunding thousands of 続けざまに猛撃するs in wrongly paid stamp 義務 to 300 people a month. Its admission （機の）カム in a written ありふれたs reply to 労働 MP John Smith, who identified mistakes in his Vale of Glamorgan 選挙区／有権者. 'Within weeks we discovered 30 事例／患者s of people who had paid stamp 義務 unnecessarily,' he says. 'I knew that, if was happening in my 選挙区／有権者, it must be happening everywhere.'

With typical 返済s of around £1,000 予定 to each homebuyer, the money 予定 to be repaid by the 歳入 will run into millions. What's more, homebuyers are also する権利を与えるd to 2.5% 税金-解放する／自由な 利益／興味 on the money for the time the 歳入 has had it.

Solicitors say they have no 平易な way of finding out if their （弁護士の）依頼人s are buying a home in a disadvantaged area.

'The areas are based on 選挙（人）の 区s. Most people have no idea which 選挙（人）の 区 they live in, let alone the 指名する of the one they are moving to,' says Andrew Locking, of Lockings Solicitors in 船体, where there are 12 免除された areas.

'I am aware of 免除された 区s in my area, but our 会社／堅い 取引，協定s with thousands of 所有物／資産／財産 処理／取引s each year, all over the country. Finding out the 指名する of the 選挙（人）の 区 would mean 令状ing to 地元の 当局 on に代わって of every （弁護士の）依頼人 who is buying a home costing £60,000 to £150,000.

'That would mean extra 行政, 延期するs for the homebuyer, and the 当局 might make a 告発（する），告訴（する）／料金 for 供給するing the （警察などへの）密告，告訴（状） - and it shouldn't be necessary.

'When the 政府 introduced this change, it should have made sure that 正確な and uptodate （警察などへの）密告，告訴（状） was readily 利用できる. We can't do our 職業 適切に without it.'

The 法律 Society says: 'We have received （民事の）告訴s about this website before and will be raising the 問題／発行する with the 歳入 again in the next few days.'

To discover whether you have bought in a 'disadvantaged area', ask your 会議 for the 指名する of the 選挙（人）の 区.

You can then check your 区 against the 名簿（に載せる）／表（にあげる） of those 免除された from stamp 義務 on the 歳入 website.

Go to: www.inlandrev enue.gov.co.uk/so/disadvantaged.htm and click on '区s qualifying for the stamp 義務 救済'. Homebuyers and solicitors can hope only that this 名簿（に載せる）／表（にあげる） is more 正確な than the postcode （警察などへの）密告，告訴（状）.

If you don't have 接近 to the internet, phone the Stamp 税金s helpline on 0845 603 0135, selecting 選択 1 for Disadvantaged Areas.