UK Stamp Duty on Share Purchases Harms Investment, Lawmakers Say

The tax on share purchases is harming investment in UK companies, according to a parliamentary committee.

The UK Treasury should publish an analysis of options to restore dividend tax relief for pension funds investing in UK equities before the autumn budget, Parliament’s Business and Trade Committee said Monday in a report titled “Investing in the UK economy.”

The UK imposes a stamp duty reserve tax of 0.5% on transactions worth over £1,000 for share purchases in a UK company or a foreign company with a UK share. But an investor “pays nothing if purchasing a share in a US company,” ...