If you are buying a residential property in Wales you should be aware that they will be using their own Stamp Duty, now called Land Transaction Tax (LTT) as of the 1st April. This is not an April Fool. LTT will be the first tax introduced by the Welsh Government in 800 years. Both the threshold 'bands' and the percentage fee have been altered when compared to SDLT. The big plus is that you can now spend an extra £55,000 on your property and pay the 0%. The 0% band rate has increased from £125,000 in England to £180,000 in Wales. They have also introduced an extra band compared to SDLT, LTT will use 3 bands instead of 2 between the values of 250,000 - 1.5m. See below for a table comparing the two taxes. LTT Threshold LTT % SDLT Threshold LTT % 0 - 180k 0 0-125k 0 180k - 250k 3.5 125k-250k 2 250k - 400k 5 250k-925k 5 400k - 750k 7.5 925k-1.5m 10 750k - 1.5m 10 1.5m+ 12 1.5m+ 12 One important thing to note is that the % charged is not a flat fee on the value, but applies to the 'tranches' of the value of the property just like income tax does. It is always important to budget for SDLT/LTT when purchasing a home as it can be a significant amount of money. Example 1 If you buy a house in Wales for £185,000 - You will pay 0% on the first £180,000 and then 3.5% on the £5,000 in the upper band. Total LTT to pay is £175. If you were buying for the same value in England the SDLT would be £1,200. Example 2 If you buy a house in the UK for £500,000 - You pay 0% on the first £125,000 (£0), 2% between £125,000 and £250,000 (£2,500), then 5% between 250,000 and 500,000 (12,500). Total SDLT is £15,000. In comparison buying in Wales for £500,000 will cost you £17,450 in LTT due to that extra 7.5% band between 400,000 and 750,000. The 3% surcharge when purchasing a second home will still apply, and will be added to the new LTT rate band when purchasing a second property in Wales. You can visit the Gov.Wales site on the link below for more info on the LTT bands which will be implemented: http://gov.wales/funding/fiscal-reform/welsh-taxes/land-transaction-tax/?lang=en LTT Calculator https://lttcalculator.wra.gov.wales/TaxCalculation SDLT Calculator https://www.tax.service.gov.uk/calculate-stamp-duty-land-tax/#/intro

Some of our Commercial Property team are attending a charity event for WaterAid UK at Portal Golf Club today. We have donated some Champagne & chocolate. We hoping they'll be bringing back a Calret jug back with them.

Blain Boland & Co Solicitors – Specialist in Employment Law We offer a wide range of solutions for your Businesses Employment Law and HR requirements. This ranges from providing and reviewing contracts of employment and employee handbooks, managing poor performance, managing sickness absence, holiday pay disputes, handling employee stress at work, equality act/disability and discrimination, social media in the workplace, handling redundancies and all employment related issues. Our motto, be proactive not reactive. Contact Blain Boland for all your employment and HR needs.

Action Fraud recently held a #takefiveweek giving advice on how to stop yourself from becoming a victim of fraud. With scammers tagetting individuals and even big business in ever more creative ways through phone scams/text message scams and e-mails. It has become increasingly important to remain vigilant when it comes to giving personal or financial details out. The Legal Sector has been a target for fraudsters due to sums of money being moved, particularly in the buying and selling of property. We have also seen businesses being targetted - people portraying to be from suppliers with invoices owing who are advising they have "changed their bank details" and can payment be sent here instead- Alarm bells should start ringing in this situation. From our point of view if you ever get a call/e-mail/text message from someone looking to discuss your details, if this is the bank ALWAYS call them back from the number on the back of your card, if this is from a company ALWAYS call them back from the number you have from them, and ideally ask to speak to a contact you may already know. In important takeaway is NEVER accept bank details provided by e-mail, again always call the business or individual and speak to someone you know. https://takefive-stopfraud.org.uk/ https://www.actionfraud.police.uk/

Now that Christmas is over, are you thinking of selling or purchasing a property. Get in touch with Blain Boland who have offices across West and Mid Cheshire for a competitive conveyancing quote.

Very cool....

Great news for first time buyer's in the Budget! https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/mortgages/2017/11/autumn-budget-2017-stamp-duty

Thank you to everyone who baked, ate and most importantly donated at one of the McMillan Coffee Mornings held at our Ellesmere Port & Middlewich offices. A great event for a fantastic cause.

Our Employment Law team can help you with finalising a settlement agreement/compromise agreement if you are leaving your current employer. Fees are usually paid for by your employer too. Contact us if you would like any assiatance.

Help to Buy ISA's are a useful scheme, but make sure you fully understand the terms involved. We have a client who has come unstuck with the rules regarding the ISA and how it works. The Key stipulation of the savings account is that you CANNOT use the money from the ISA for the deposit. The savings and the bonus can only be used towards the balance upon completion. Here is a list of FAQs from the Help to Buy scheme website. https://www.helptobuy.gov.uk/help-to-buy-isa/faq/

Employment Law News: Employment Tribunal fees scrapped - The Supreme Court has today ruled in favour of the trade union, Unison, in their appeal to scrap 'unlawful' Employment Tribunal fees for individuals bringing employment claims. The Court Fee was introduced by the previous Conservative government in 2013. The fee was dependent on the reason for bringing the Tribunal (redundancy/notice/holiday pay, unpaid wages, discrimination, unequal pay, whistleblowing or unfair dismissal) with fees starting from £390 and up to £1,200 for an individual’s claim. The introduction of the fees had seen a drop in Tribunals by around 80%. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/supreme-court-employment-tribunal-fees-unlawful-plaintiffs-women-gender-uk-companies-lawyers-a7860521.html