HIA’s Stamp Duty Watch report, released today, reviews the latest developments around stamp duty across Australia’s eight states and territories.
“Australian homebuyers paid out over $21 billion in stamp duty to state governments during the 2017/18 financial year – and the total cost of the tax is expected to get even bigger over the next few years,” explained HIA Senior Economist, Shane Garrett.
“The Report shows that revenue from stamp duty across the states and territories has doubled over the past 8 years. This has added considerably to the cost of buying a home and represents a real setback for affordability.
“The recent set of state Budgets envisage stamp duty revenues increasing by another 11 per cent over the next four years.
“This will involve homebuyers’ having their pockets drained to the tune of $23.1 billion annually by 2021/22 through stamp duty.
“State governments are more dependent on stamp duty than at any time in the last decade. Stamp duty is notoriously unstable and Australia’s largest states are heavily exposed to any downturn in duty receipts should economic conditions change.
“Housing affordability and the sustainability of government finances would both be winners if stamp duty was replaced by better revenue-raising designs. Australian governments really need to tackle this issue once and for all,” concluded Shane Garrett.
