High-End Homebuyers Find Stamp Duty Tax Loopholes, FT Says

Buyers of U.K. homes with a value exceeding two million pounds ($2.91 million) have found loopholes to avoid paying top-rate stamp duty less than a month after the government introduced a higher levy, the Financial Times reported.

One of the plans marketed by some law firms involves buyers signing multi-year leases that are automatically renewed on a rolling basis, the report said. The approach circumvents the top tax as the value of each lease is much less than the freehold of the house.