| [Express.co.uk]SHARIA law is being used by house buyers posing as Muslims to dodge stamp duty, it was revealed yesterday. A scheme, brought in by Labour in 2005, allows followers of Islam to buy property without paying the tax. Paying interest is banned under Sharia law, so Muslims are allowed to buy a house and then sell it on to an offshore financial company. They then lease the house from the company instead of taking out a mortgage, which would include interest payments. Stamp duty, which is applicable to all properties worth £125,000 and over, does not have to be paid on properties which are immediately sold on. But the loophole, which costs the Treasury £40million a year, is now being used by some who pretend to be Muslim. UK Islamic Finance Secretariat said: “It was certainly not envisaged that some tax advisers would manipulate the legislation on behalf of their clients to avoid paying stamp duty at all.” |
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