Re: Shanks1
If you have a credit card you can't avoid the stamp duty because if you cancel your card, your bank will charge you the E 40 at that point. I'm 100% sure about this as I closed my MBNA cc last November and my final statement contained the E 40 government stamp duty. Presumably, MBNA will pass this onto the revenue at the end of the cc tax year, ie, 31 March 2004. If you already have a cc but wish to switch to another what's the most cost-effective way to do so?
If you do it this week, for example, you will get hit twice with the stamp duty. Close cc 1, you get charged E 40 on closure of this card. Open cc 2 you will get charged the E 40 stamp duty on 31 March 2004. Keep using cc 2 and you get charged E 40 on 31 March 2005 and so on.
Now to my mind the way to save E 40 is to wait until mid-March, close cc 1, pay the E 40 on this card. Hang tough a couple of weeks and open cc 2 in April, you are now in a new cc tax year and you pay the E 40 stamp duty on this card on 31 March 2005.
If there are any flaws with this approach let us know!!