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The Treasury has introduced exemptions from its planned stamp duty hike and annual tax on luxury homes owned by corporate vehicles.

Chancellor George Osborne originally announced the new tax regime in his March budget to disincentivise wealthy individuals from purchasing luxury homes through corporate vehicles to avoid tax.

Under the amended plans, residential properties worth over 拢2m purchased by bona fide property companies will be exempt from the planned 15% rate of stamp duty, which comes into force from April 2013.

Legitimate property companies 鈥� including developers, traders and investors holding buy-to-let properties 鈥� will be subject to the more general 7% stamp duty rate.

The Treasury is also introducing the 鈥淎nnual Residential Property Tax鈥� (ARPT) on properties worth more than 拢2m from April 2013, which will be charged on a sliding scale between 拢15,000 and 拢140,000. Legitimate property companies will again be exempted from the tax.

Mark Farmer, head of residential at EC Harris, welcomed the introduction of exemptions to the taxes for legitimate residential investment businesses, 鈥減articularly given the growing importance of the private rented sector鈥�, but warned the overall effect of the tax changes would 鈥渢ake some of the heat鈥� out of the high-end residential market.

He added: 鈥淭here鈥檚 likely to be a growing concern among wealthy individuals that this is the direction of travel in terms of increasing taxation of the purchase of high-end residential properties.

鈥淭here鈥檚 a real danger government will over-regulate and London will lose some of its competitive advantage relative to other world cities鈥�.

There has been an 80% drop in the number of homes worth more than 拢2m bought through corporate vehicles since the March budget in anticipation of the new tax regime, according to research published by the Financial Times.