Written question asked by Andrew Dismore (Labour) on Tuesday, 7 September 2004, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 14 September 2004. It was answered by Stephen Timms (Labour) on Tuesday, 14 September 2004 on behalf of the Treasury.

Treasury

Question: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to permit Muslims to buy leasehold property on the same or similar basis to freehold within the provisions in the Budget to prevent double stamp duty and allow purchases without payment of interest as a consequence.

Answer: Mr. Dismore: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he is taking to permit Muslims to buy leasehold property on the same or similar basis to freehold within the provisions in the Budget to prevent double stamp duty and allow purchases without payment of interest as a consequence. [188013] Mr. Timms: The Government want to see consumers benefit from a wide choice and innovation in the financial services market. The Finance Act 2003 introduced two reliefs (s72 and s73) for purchases funded by "alternative property financing", which enables individuals to finance a property without paying interest. The combined effect of these reliefs is to place the amount of stamp duty land tax due when purchasing property using these arrangements on a level footing with the amount due on the purchase of property when using `conventional' mortgage products. This will remove a significant barrier to the development of alternative property financing, thus benefiting a range of consumers with increased choice in the mortgage market. The legislation does not discriminate between freehold and leasehold properties, so both can be purchased using alternative property financing without a greater quantity of stamp duty being incurred than under a conventional mortgage.

Secondary information