direct from someone else, but the blairs did not pay it. that is because the property was owned by an offshore company, and the blairs bought that company rather than the property itself, no rules were broken, no stamp duty to pay. that does not look great and so, even if what the blairs did was perfectly legal and legitimate in the business world, it feels instinctively really unfair because they got access to an advantage that the rest of us don't have. cherie blair told the bbc they did not request to structure the transaction this way and that after purchase they had brought the property under uk tax and regulatory rules. a spokesman added the couple will be liable for capital gains tax on resale. richard bilton, bbc news.