Responsiveness of Commercial Transactions to Stamp Duty Land Tax

This document describes an evaluation of the impact of changes in Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) on commercial property transactions in England and Northern Ireland, focusing on the shift from a slab to a slice tax system implemented in 2016. The evaluation used a methodological approach that analyzed SDLT data, excluding certain transactions, and applied regression models to assess the responsiveness of commercial transactions to changes in the Effective Tax Rate (ETR). The results indicated that commercial transactions are highly responsive to tax changes, with a 1% change in ETR leading to an 11.7% change in transactions, a higher rate than previously estimated and greater than that of residential transactions. The study's findings, which have been certified by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), will inform future policy costings. The evaluation concludes that commercial markets are more elastic to tax changes than residential markets, and the paper is the first to specifically examine the effects of SDLT on commercial transactions. Additionally, the GOV.UK website text mentions the use of cookies for site functionality and user experience improvement, and it invites user feedback to enhance the website. **This summary was written by an AI model and therefore should not be considered a definitive summary of the report. If you are aware of inaccuracies, please email evaluation.registry@cabinetoffice.gov.uk.**

Description

• Lead department: HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC)
• Evaluation stage: A complete evaluation report
• Other departments: No other departments listed
• Evaluation types: Impact evaluation
• Impact methods: Quasi-experimental method
• Quasi-experimental methods: Regression discontinuity
• Grant information: This intervention is not distributing funding via a grant
• Government Major Project information: This intervention is not a major project
• Policies: No policies provided

Event Dates

• Event Name: Publication of final results
• Event date: October 2021

Evaluation Costs

• Cost: Not provided

Evaluation sharing

• Link(s) to published report(s): Yes
• Links to evaluation plans: No link provided
• Findings: Not provided
• Permission to share confirmed: Yes