• where exchanges of property happen between connected persons, the two legs of the exchange will no longer be ‘linked transactions’. Under the old rule, you have to aggregate the values of the properties exchanged, which means that an exchange of two low-value properties below the threshold can result in 4% SDLT on each leg. Under the new rule, if the properties are below the £500,000 threshold, then the lower rate of duty can be applied to the lower-value properties;
• relief for shared ownership leases is to be extended to shared ownership trusts (frequently encountered in commonhold structures);
• the payment of SDLT will no longer be required to accompany the return, and instead will have to be paid by the filing date (usually 30 days after the effective date). So, if the return is submitted early, there will no longer be any need to pay the SDLT early.

Note that these changes are not in force yet (but they are in the Finance Bill). Other non-SDLT property tax changes in the Budget include:

• foreign properties: individuals owning properties abroad (eg holiday homes) through a company have potentially been subject to an income tax charge based on the value of that living accommodation. This is because it could be caught as a benefit in kind paid to a director or shadow director. The government is to remove this potential tax headache with retrospective effect in FA 2008;
• capital allowances: these will become less generous as from 2008/09. The rate of writing down allowances for plant and machinery in the general pool will reduce from 25% to 20%; the rate of writing down allowances on long-life asset expenditure will increase from 6% to 10%; writing down allowances on industrial and agricultural buildings will be phased out by 2010/11.