The New South Wales Government last year announced gutsy reforms to the state’s tax system, which will offer owner-occupiers an alternative to paying stamp duty via a fixed $500 up-front fee plus an annual 0.3% tax on the property’s unimproved land value.
Under the proposed reforms, the average buyer of a Sydney house would be given the choice to either pay a $51,000 lump sum (the current stamp duty requirement) or about $2,000 per year.
But once the property is subject to the annual tax, all future owners of that property would also be required to continue paying it.
