| Headline: Stamp duty - the bane of UK securitizations Source: Euromoney Date: May 2000 Author: Mark Kessell In the run-up to the recent UK budget, considerable attention was given to a likely increase in stamp duty. Most reports concerned the effect on residential property transactions and on share dealing, but there was also concern about the UK securitization market. When chancellor of the exchequer Gordon Brown presented his budget in mid-March, the UK securitization industry was confronted with an unwelcome, if widely predicted, development. Brown did indeed raise stamp duty and no mention was made of any forthcoming exemption from notional payment of this tax in securitizations. As things stand, stamp duty is not paid on securitizations except in rare circumstances but companies have to put aside large sums to provide for the possibility of stamp duty liability. |