UK to remove stamp duty tax from newly London-listed shares for 3 years

Britain will exempt new London Stock Exchange listings from stamp duty tax for 3 years, the government announced on Wednesday, in a bid to revive the country’s struggling stock market.

UK finance minister Rachel Reeves announced the tax holiday as part of the Labour government’s second annual budget in an effort to arrest a wave of companies shunning London for New York seeking higher valuations and deeper investment pools.

Stamp duty is a tax set at 0.5 percent that buyers pay when buying newly listed shares on London’s markets. Critics say it disincentivises trading and investment.

Some lawyers and investors have said such a tax holiday could stimulate demand and attract more global capital, although others have called for the abolition of stamp duty on share trading across the board to revitalise capital markets.

Julia Hoggett, chief executive of the London Stock Exchange, part of LSEG, welcomed the change, adding it was an “important first step”.

Stamp taxes on shares and other liable securities receipts fell by 15 percent to 3.2 billion pounds (HK$32.8 billion) between 2022-23 and 2023-24, government figures show.

Reuters