The Law Society campaign, which set out to change the way in which Stamp Duty is collected, is celebrating after the Revenue agreed to make changes.
The campaign began in May, and attracted the support of over 4,500 solicitors, as well as support from both the main opposition parties in Parliament. The main complaints were the Revenue's scanning system, a lack of proper guidance and an inadequate helpline. They have now agreed to make its scanners more flexible in the way it interprets answers given on Stamp Duty returns. It is estimated that this will reduce the number of returned forms by up to 60% and speed up the home-buying process.
The Revenue has also said that returned forms will no longer be sent to the client or need the signature of both the client and the solicitor.
Our view
Cutting down on the paperwork will save trees - so that has got be good!