6. Welsh Conservatives Debate: Land transaction tax on commercial land

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 5:50 pm on 9 May 2018.

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Photo of Mark Reckless Mark Reckless Conservative 5:50, 9 May 2018

Will the Minister give way? The purchase of this site, I understand, on 28 March, and then the granting of the 999-year lease on 29 March, took place under the SDLT regime. If it had taken place three days later, Ministers would not have avoided their own regime. I have raised very serious points about what happens to local authorities, what happens to other public sector bodies, why the Government is then coming in to look to buy the offices on this site, avoiding tax that the private sector would have to pay. Is it because of this 6 per cent rate, which means fewer private sector people will want to buy offices in Wales?