The case of Pollen Estate considers how the SDLT rules should apply to joint purchasers of land where one of the purchasers is entitled to relief from SDLT. The Court of Appeal has confirmed that the orthodoxy set out by the Upper Tribunal – that there is only a single land transaction where joint purchasers acquire land – is correct. However, the Court of Appeal’s purposive interpretation of the charities relief provisions in FA 2003 Sch 8 has ensured that the relief remains available to the extent that one of the parties is a charity – thus mitigating the perceived inequity of the Upper Tribunal decision.
