Murray Beith Murray LLP is a leading Scottish private client law firm.
For 175 years we have specialised in meeting the legal, financial and administrative needs of individuals and families, family trusts, charities and private companies.
Most people appreciate the need for a Will, but often have not considered that having a Power of Attorney in place is equally important.
Since 1979, when the new Land Register opened, Scotland has been on a quest to improve the transparency of its land ownership. 1979 saw the first crucial step in this, with the opening of a map-based register, designed gradually to phase out Scotland’s 1617-established deed-based register. The process acquired new significance with the re-birth of the Scottish Parliament in 1999 and, last month, momentum was sustained with the publishing of the Scottish Government’s "Improving transparency in land ownership in Scotland: a consultation on controlling interests in land".
As of 1 April 2016, the Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (Amendment) (Scotland) Act 2016 (“the Act”) introduced the Additional Dwelling Supplement (ADS) being an additional amount of Land & Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT) payable when a residential property in excess of £40,000 is purchased in Scotland and ‘ a) at the end of the day that is the effective date of the transaction, the buyer owns more than one dwelling in Scotland or elsewhere and b) the buyer is not replacing their only or main residence’.
With the 31st October paper filing deadline fast approaching, there is still time to have your tax affairs for the year to 5th April 2016 reviewed. If you don't already complete a Self Assessment Tax Return you may not realise that perhaps you should be.
