Further Government backing to make UK an attractive investment fund domicile
In his Autumn Statement delivered today, the Chancellor announced the removal of stamp duty that is paid by the end investor on purchases of shares in Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs). The change will take effect from April 2014.
Investment funds domiciled and listed in the UK will continue to pay stamp duty on their acquisitions of UK shares. However, the additional stamp duty borne by the end investor that is currently in place has put the UK at a disadvantage to some other locations, with fund houses opting to domicile their funds in jurisdictions where this tax is not applied.
Julie Patterson, IMA Director of Regulatory Affairs (Investment Funds and Retail), said:
“Today’s announcement on cutting stamp duty for ETFs is a further important step in a series of significant changes made by the Government over recent months to make the UK a more attractive location for investment funds to be based.
“For every extra £1 billion of new funds domiciling in the UK, an additional £700,000 could be generated in UK tax revenues, as well as contributing to the economic growth of this country by creating jobs around the UK.”
The Government launched the UK Investment Management Strategy in March 2013 as a commitment to making the UK one of the most competitive places in the world for the investment management sector.
