Denouncing tax evasion and aggressive tax avoidance as “morally repugnant”, the Chancellor of the Exchequer today announced a series of measures to clamp down on individuals who own residential property through offshore companies to avoid paying stamp duty.

George Osborne set out a raft of measures aimed at taxing wealth, rather than income, such as a new 7% rate of stamp duty on residential properties worth more than £2m. The current rate applies a 5% stamp duty to properties worth more than £1m.