Hon. Dr. David Saul announced yesterday, on the grounds that is both discriminatory and retroactive.

He proposed to introduce legislation in the fall to repeal the Stamp Duties Act 1976 amendment which elicited criticism from both sides of the House of Assembly.

Anyone who had paid the duty was eligible for a refund from the Accountant General. However Dr. Saul claimed he was aware of only one payment of the fee under the current legislation.

The amendment, which was part of the Budget package of revenue-raising measures announced earlier this year, introduced a duty to be paid by non-Bermudians on the difference between a real estate property purchase price and its sale price. An allowance was made for the fee that had been paid to the Immigration Ministry for permission to acquire the property, Dr. Saul said.

Dr. Saul admitted that in spite of wrestling with various draft amendments, he had failed to come up with any further amendments that would satisfy members' criticisms while retaining the "revenue raising intent of the duty''.