The UK government is consulting on how to improve the transparency of land ownership when trusts are involved in the ownership structure. This is a new consultation, seeking views on ways to widen access to trust information held on the Register of Overseas Entities and, in more general terms, on how to improve transparency around the ownership of land involving trusts, at the same time as balancing additional public information with legitimate privacy concerns.
In developing the third-party access rights to information held on the Trust Registration Service which came into force on 1 September 2022, the government encountered opposition which resulted in restricting access rights to those with a narrow ‘legitimate interest’ (and including certain protections, for example where disclosure would lead to a risk of harm). From a tax professional’s perspective, although this consultation is primarily concerned with ownership of land, similar privacy and access concerns may arise.
In his foreword to the consultation, Michael Gove (Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities) says that the government will be guided by two main principles: ‘the government must know who really owns and controls UK land and property, and as much of that information as possible should be public by default’.
The UK government is consulting on how to improve the transparency of land ownership when trusts are involved in the ownership structure. This is a new consultation, seeking views on ways to widen access to trust information held on the Register of Overseas Entities and, in more general terms, on how to improve transparency around the ownership of land involving trusts, at the same time as balancing additional public information with legitimate privacy concerns.
In developing the third-party access rights to information held on the Trust Registration Service which came into force on 1 September 2022, the government encountered opposition which resulted in restricting access rights to those with a narrow ‘legitimate interest’ (and including certain protections, for example where disclosure would lead to a risk of harm). From a tax professional’s perspective, although this consultation is primarily concerned with ownership of land, similar privacy and access concerns may arise.
In his foreword to the consultation, Michael Gove (Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities) says that the government will be guided by two main principles: ‘the government must know who really owns and controls UK land and property, and as much of that information as possible should be public by default’.
