Tax deadline expected to cause property sales surge

Law firm HBJ Gateley says it expects a surge in commercial property deals in Scotland ahead of the introduction of new tax rules next year.

The company said the cost of completing a transaction valued at in excess of £1.95 million under the Scottish Government’s new Land and Buildings Transactions Tax would be higher than under the current Stamp Duty system.

HBJ said it expected developers to move to close as many higher value deals as possible before the new regulations came into force.

Caroline James of HBJ Gateley said: “The new land tax will be good for some while adding an extra burden for others.

“We expect the prospect of increased costs to focus minds and in the coming months there is likely to be a surge in companies looking to close deals before the April deadline.”

“But with just six months to go companies will need to move fast if they want to complete deals within the time frame.

“There is still a window of opportunity to complete sales under the existing system but any deal still under way which has not planned to take the new rules into account could find themselves being caught out by unexpected costs.”