Via AAP comes the following interesting development:
The Australian Tax Office is investigating 195 properties that have possibly been purchased illegally by foreign investors.
Acting second tax commissioner Neil Olesen confirmed the number at a Senate estimates hearing in Canberra on Tuesday but was unable to provide a breakdown of price ranges.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if a fair slab of them were towards the top end of the market,” he said.
It’s great to see this issue finally being taken seriously after years of neglect from FIRB. Let’s hope these investigations are merely the tip of the iceberg, and illegal purchasers are both identified and penalised. Enough is enough.
