Real Estate
Second Australian State Hits Foreign Property Buyers - Report

Another state in Australia moves to curb hot property prices with a tax, part of a trend seen in a number of jurisdictions in Asia and beyond.
The Australian state of New South Wales is imposing new burdens
on foreigners looking to buy property to curb strong price
growth, joining the state of Victoria in imposing such a tax,
according to Bloomberg.
NSW intends to bring in a 4 per cent stamp duty surcharge from 21
June, and from next year it will bring in a 0.75 per cent land
tax surcharge on foreign purchases, the report said.
The report, citing data from CoreLogic, said purchases by
foreigners have helped Sydney’s median dwelling value almost
double since the end of 2008.
Homebuyers in New South Wales now pay A$40,490 ($29,801) in stamp
duty on a property worth more than A$1 million, plus 4.5 per cent
of the value above A$1 million, the report, quoting government
data, said. It noted that Hong Kong also brought in an additional
15 per cent tax on purchases by non-residents and companies in
2012 to curb demand from mainland China buyers; Singapore has
also put up taxes on foreign buyers to 15 per cent from 10 per
cent.
Further afield, countries such as the UK have imposed higher
taxes on high-value property deals to try and curb hot property
markets that have fuelled domestic political controversy about
high prices.