There has been a lot of buzz around real estate stamp duty lately. The end of the stamp duty concession for first time home buyers in NSW aside, the debate about whether or not to abolish the tax is mounting.
Stamp duty is a relatively simple tax and brings in billions of dollars of revenue for each state annually. Across Australia the state average of $12.5 billion per year would be difficult to replace.
Those in favour of abolishment believe stamp duty inhibits Australia’s productivity and suggest a rise in GST to upwards of 12.5%. Another suggestion is to replace stamp duty with a broad land tax, making the tax more “equitable.”
We will follow the debate closely as the outcome could result in changes for the property market in general.
Read more about the debate in detail
Related Links |