A yearlong inquiry into underpayments of stamp duty found that a systemic problem, rather than any one particular error, cost the government $3,430,885 in six years. The commissioner who headed the probe made a series of recommendations for improving the process, but found “no evidence of an intention to defraud, save perhaps in a single case.”
The Report of the Commission of Inquiry into the Possible Undervaluing of Property to Avoid Chargeable Stamp Duty was tabled in the House of Assembly July 24. Of the transferred properties valued at $750,000 or more between 2000 and 2006, 22 were “potentially contentious transactions,” meaning that the parties involved may have underpaid stamp duty, according to the report.
“The commission is satisfied that … the inadequacies and inefficiencies in the legal regime and administrative structure and practices in the Inland Revenue Department have resulted in a substantial leakage of stamp duty,” the report states.
See the Aug. 2, 2012 edition for full coverage.
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