Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on December 8, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 20, 2026
Add as preferred source on Google
The UK will exempt new London-listed shares from stamp duty for 3 years to boost its stock market, part of Labour's budget plan.
LONDON (Reuters) -Britain will exempt new London Stock Exchange listings from stamp duty tax for 3 years, the government announced on Wednesday, in a bid to revive the country's struggling stock market.
UK finance minister Rachel Reeves announced the tax holiday as part of the Labour government's second annual budget in an effort to arrest a wave of companies shunning London for New York seeking higher valuations and deeper investment pools.
Stamp duty is a tax set at 0.5% that buyers pay when buying newly listed shares on London's markets. Critics say it disincentivises trading and investment.
Some lawyers and investors have said such a tax holiday could stimulate demand and attract more global capital, although others have called for the abolition of stamp duty on share trading across the board to revitalise capital markets.
Julia Hoggett, CEO of the London Stock Exchange, part of LSEG, welcomed the change, adding it was an "important first step".
Stamp taxes on shares and other liable securities receipts fell by 15% to 3.2 billion pounds between 2022-23 and 2023-24, government figures show.
(Reporting by Tommy Reggiori Wilkes and Kirstin Ridley, editing by Iain Withers)
Stamp duty is a tax imposed on the purchase of shares and certain other assets. In the UK, it is typically set at 0.5% for newly listed shares on the London Stock Exchange.
The London Stock Exchange (LSE) is one of the largest and oldest stock exchanges in the world, where shares of publicly traded companies are bought and sold.
A tax holiday is a temporary reduction or elimination of a tax, aimed at stimulating economic activity. In this case, it refers to the exemption of stamp duty for new listings.
Financial markets are platforms where buyers and sellers engage in the trade of assets such as stocks, bonds, currencies, and derivatives. They play a crucial role in the economy.
Investment refers to the allocation of resources, usually money, in order to generate income or profit. This can include purchasing stocks, bonds, real estate, or other assets.
Explore more articles in the Finance category
