Labour peer Lord Sainsbury has transferred £340m worth of shares he personally owned to a company he controls, reportedly saving him more than £27m by avoiding the controversial changes to the capital gains tax (CGT) regime.
The peer transferred 92m of his shares yesterday to Innotech Advisers, just in time for him to pay CGT at the lower rate of 10% before it rises to a flat rate of 18% on Sunday – or £34m compared with the £61.2m he would be taxed if he sold the shares next week, according to The Daily Mail.
The transfer was made in the expectation that he will on-sell the shares at a later date, when the tax will be less than if he had continued to keep the shares in his name.
A spokesperson for Lord Sainsbury said the peer would not make any profit himself from transferring the shares, which he inherited on the death of his father, and that he intended to use the money for charitable donations.
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