AIC calls for removal of stamp duty for investment companies
The AIC has responded to HM Treasury’s ‘Review of the UK funds regime: a call for input’.
The AIC has responded to HM Treasury’s ‘Review of the UK funds regime: a call for input’.
The Association of Investment Companies (AIC) has responded to HM Treasury’s ‘Review of the UK funds regime: a call for input’. The call for input seeks views on issues across tax and regulation as part of the Treasury’s review of the UK funds regime.
Ian Sayers, Chief Executive of the Association of Investment Companies (AIC), said: “We have recommended that HM Treasury remove stamp duty and stamp duty reserve tax (SDRT) on purchases of investment trust, investment company REIT and VCT shares. This will level the playing field with open-ended funds. Since 2014, most purchases of open-ended funds have been exempt from stamp duty yet it remains in place for investment companies. There is no policy rationale for this difference as investment companies and open-ended funds serve the same investor need. It is time that this distortion is addressed.
“Investment trusts, investment company REITs and VCTs already pay stamp duty, SDRT or stamp duty land tax (SDLT) when they purchase their underlying investments. Levying stamp duty again when investors buy their shares leads to double taxation. UK policy has traditionally ensured a neutral tax position for the end investor, so that an investor in a collective fund will be in a similar tax position as if they had invested in the fund’s underlying assets directly. Removing stamp duty on purchases of investment trusts, investment company REITs and VCTs will create a fair tax position for investors and maximise competition in the public interest.”
-ENDS-
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Notes to editors
- The Association of Investment Companies (AIC) was founded in 1932 to represent the interests of the investment trust industry – the oldest form of collective investment. Today, the AIC represents a broad range of closed-ended investment companies, incorporating investment trusts and other closed-ended investment companies and VCTs. The AIC’s members believe that the industry is best served if it is united and speaks with one voice. The AIC’s mission statement is to help members add value for shareholders over the longer term. The AIC has 360 members and the industry has total assets of approximately £239 billion.
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