Stamp Duty Position Clear

Revenue Minister Bill English said today the position on stamp duty was clear.

"Stamp duty applies to all transactions completed on or before 20 May 1999. It does not apply to any transactions completed after 20 May 1999.

"In the case of sales of land, this means that if the transaction has not been registered with the Land Registry Office on or before 20 May 1999 it will not be liable for stamp duty.

"For example, if an agreement for the purchase of a farm has been entered into but settlement is not until 1 June 1999, the transaction will not be liable for stamp duty.

"It means that anybody completing their transactions after Budget night will be treated the same irrespective of when agreements were entered into.

"It has been suggested that $60 million will be lost in stamp duties. This largely relates to whether stamp duty should apply to the ECNZ transaction. The settlement of the split was designed to be fiscally neutral to the Crown and this applies whether or not stamp duty is payable on this transaction," said Mr English.